PSALM 1 (with cross references & topics)
Psa 1:1-6 BEGINNING OF BOOK 1 (Psalm 1-41); author anonymous. Said to: deal with decisions & persecution; provide guidance & wisdom:
- Blessed is the man who does not
- walk in the counsel of the wicked (evil) or
- stand in the way of sinners or
- sit in the seat of mockers.
- But His delight is in the Law of the LORD (YAHWEH), & on HIS Law He meditates day & night.
- He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
- which yields its fruit in season & whose leaf does not whither.
- whatever He does prospers (succeeds-- both blesses others & himself).
- Not so the wicked (evil)! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked (evil) will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly (peaceful gathering) of the righteous (upright). For the LORD (YAHWEH) watches over the way of the righteous (upright), but the way of the wicked (evil) will perish.
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Gen 39:1-6,9 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was 1 of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard, bought Him from the Ishmaelites who had taken Him there. The LORD (YAHWEH) was with Joseph & He prospered (succeeded), & He lived in the house of His Egyptian master. When His master saw that the LORD (YAHWEH) was with Him & that the LORD gave Him success (YAHWEH made to succeed) in everything He did, Joseph found favor in his eyes & became his attendant. Potiphar put Him in charge of his household, & he entrusted to His care everything he owned. From the time he put Him in charge, the LORD (YAHWEH) blessed the household of the Egyptian, both in the house & in the field; he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. And a few verses later we see Joseph speaking to Potiphar's wife: 'My master has held nothing from Me except you.'
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Jsh <1> 1:6-8 <2> 3:12-17 <1> The Lord speaking to Joshua as he was about to lead all Israel into the promised land: Be strong & courageous, because You will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to Their forefathers to give Them. Be strong & very courageous. Be careful to obey all the Law MY Servant Moses gave You; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that You may be successful wherever You go (or as Deu 29:9 has it, that You may prosper in everything You do). Do not let this book of the Law depart from Your mouth; meditate on it day & night, so that You may be careful to do everything written in it. Then You will be prosperous & successful (succeed & deal wisely-- Joshua was successful in his campaign, the conquest of Canaan). <2> Joshua giving instructions, as per the Lord's: 'Choose 12 men from the tribes of Israel, 1 from each tribe. And as soon as the priests who carry the Ark of the LORD [within the ark was the symbolic Presence of the LORD; there was no incarnation (presence in the flesh) in O.T. times; Jesus was entirely one-with-the-father; now we have the spiritual/real manifestation of the Holy Spirit within our hearts] set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off & stand in a heap.' So the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the Covenant of the LORD containing only the 2 stone tablets (fashioned by Moses after the golden calf incident-- see PSALM 7 Deu<3>), which specifies that Moses had built a wooden chest & carried 2 stone tablets, that he had chiseled, up Mt. Sinai when he ascended the 2nd time; later carrying them down after the 10 Commandments were inscribed by the Finger of GOD on them, placing them in the chest/ark). These 2 tablets were still the only contents of the ark much later, when the priests put the ark (built by man per instructions) into the temple Solomon had built-- see 1stKi 8:3-9. Now Hebr 9:4 does say that the contents of the ark were the gold jar of manna, Aaron's staff that had budded, & the stone tablets of the covenant-- this is not 1 of the 100s of so-called contradictions in the Bible. It is not recorded when, but likely at some point the ark did contain these 3-- there were 373 years between when Solomon placed the ark in the temple & when Nebuchadnezzar removed the ark as he destroyed Jerusalem (see PSALM 46 Dan<1>). Jer 27:19-22 says that those articles not then carried off were later removed to Babylon-- but later still restored. Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan & Their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (Plain, Salt or Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. The priests who carried the ark of the Covenant of the LORD (YAHWEH) stood firm on firm dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.
Deu 4:5-13,15-20 Moses speaking to all Israel, after the desert wanderings, before the Israelites crossed the Jordan R. (before Moses died), during his 1st address: See, I Moses have taught You decrees (prescriptions) & laws (specifications) as the LORD My GOD (YAHWEH My Majestic ONE) commanded Me, so that You may follow them in the land You are entering to take possession of it. Observe them carefully, for this will show Your wisdom & understanding to the nations, who will hear all [only] these decrees (prescriptions-- like only the 10 Commandments) & say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise & understanding people.' What other nation is so great as to have their gods (majestic ones) near them the way the LORD Our GOD (YAHWEH Our Majestic ONE) is near Us whenever We pray to HIM? And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees & laws (prescriptions & specifications) as this body of laws (entire Mosaic Law-- called the Royal Law in PSALM 82 Jame). Only be careful, & watch yourselves closely so that You do not forget. Teach them to Your children & to their children after Them. Remember the day You stood before the LORD Your GOD (YAHWEH Your Majestic ONE) at Horeb, when HE said to Me, Assemble the people before ME to hear MY Words so that they may learn & may teach them to Their children? You came near & stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire. Exo 20:18-21 says, They fled & remained at a distance. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice. HE declared to You HIS Covenant (Treaty, Agreement), the 10 Commandments; then wrote them on 2 stone tablets. You saw no form; therefore watch yourselves very carefully, so that You do not make an idol, an image of any shape [statue]: man, woman, animal, bird, ground-creeper, fish, sun, moon, or star. The LORD (YAHWEH) brought You out of the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt.
2ndTim 2:17-21 Hymenaeus & Philetus [2 false teachers] have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection of the saints has already taken place, & they destroy the faith of some. Nevertheless , GOD'S Solid Foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: 'The LORD knows who are HIS, & everyone who confesses the Name of the LORD must turn away from wickedness-- recall Jeremiah being instructed to abandon worthless words & not turn to them [wayward Judah, per Jer (left, bottom)] .' In a large house like Judah there are articles not only of gold & silver, but also of wood & clay; some for noble purposes & some ignoble-- recall God, before he spoke to Jeremiah, 1st saying to Judah that he would deliver them for a good purpose. Here, If just a man cleanses himself from the latter, He will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the MASTER & prepared to do any good work.
Jer 14:19-20,22; 15:1-2,10-21 A conversation the Lord was having with Jeremiah concerning Jerusalem's fate (see PerspectivesA A.1.c.PROPHECY BOOKS iv.Jer; s.a. Jeremiah to the right). We have Jeremiah seeking how God might repent: Have YOU rejected Judah completely? Do YOU despise Zion? Why have YOU afflicted Us so that We cannot be healed? We hoped for peace but no good has come, for a time of healing but there is only terror. O LORD, We acknowledge Our wickedness & the guilt of Our fathers; therefore Our hope is in YOU. Then the LORD said to Me: Even if Moses & Samuel were to stand before ME, MY Heart would not go out to this people. Send Them away; if They ask You, 'Where shall We go?' tell Them, "This is what the LORD says, 'Those destined for death, to death; those for the sword, to the sword; those for starvation, to starvation; for captivity, to captivity-- turned out, this last was the least (there were exiles that returned).' Then Jeremiah exclaimed, Alas, My mother, that You gave Me birth, me a man [citizen] with whom the whole land strives & contends! I have neither lent nor borrowed, yet everyone curses Me. This is the moment in which God repented & arranged for the return-of-exiles: The Lord said to all Judah, Surely I will deliver you for a good purpose; surely I will make your enemies plead with you in times of disaster & distress. Can a man break iron? Your wealth & your treasures I will give as plunder because of all your sins. I will enslave you to your enemies, for MY Anger will kindle a fire. In effect, Jeremiah interrupts/protests here, thinking that this was all about him alone (end-of-story)-- not realizing that God could/would break the iron: YOU understand, O LORD-- like, right on; "praise the Lord; thank you Jesus"; remember Me & care for Me. Avenge Me on My persecutors. When YOUR Words came, I ate them; they were My joy & My heart's delight. I never sat in the company or revelers, never made merry with them; I sat alone because YOUR Hand was on Me & YOU filled Me with indignation. A worthless word! A foolish charge! Why is My pain unending? Therefore this is what the LORD says: If You Jeremiah repent, I will restore You that You may serve ME; if You utter worthy, not worthless, words. You will again be MY Spokesman. Be strong! Let this people turn to You, but You must not turn to them. I will make You a wall to this people, a wall of fortified bronze; they will fight against You but will not overcome You, declares the LORD. Now to Judah he says, I will save you from the hands of the wicked & redeem you from the grasp of the cruel.
Jeremiah In Jer (left) we saw a verbal exchange that took place between God & Jeremiah. It's difficult to pin determine exactly when it took place. No doubt Israel already had been captured by Assyria some 80 yrs. earlier, but Jeremiah's ministry spanned the last 5 kings of Judah (ending as Jerusalem was captured).
Ch. 1 covers Jeremiah's call-to-ministry; ch. 2-31 are prophecies-- the 1st 19 are said to be general, the following 11 can be dated; since that conversation took place in ch. 14 & 15, 1 can only guess when the conversation took place.
In 640 B.C. Josiah became 5th-last king (reigned 31 yr.); in 627 B.C. Jeremiah's ministry began (i.e., Jeremiah's ministry began 13 yr. after Josiah became king); in 609 B.C. Jehoahaz became the 4th last king-- he reigned only 3 mo., but he witnessed the 1st exile to Babylon; in 609 B.C. Jehoiakim became the 3rd-last king (reigned 11 yr.); in 598 B.C. Jehoiachin became the 2nd-last king-- he also reigned only 3 mo., but he witnessed the 2nd exile to Babylon; in 597 B.C. Zedekiah became the last king-- he reigned 11 yr; at the end of his reign the 3rd (& last) exile occurred, upon Jerusalem's destruction.
Ch. 32-38 is an assortment of prophecies & descriptions-- they were geared to convince Judah to repent; ch. 39 is a final description of Jerusalem's fall; ch. 40-45 are descriptions of various events following Jerusalem's fall; ch.46-51 are prophecies about other nations-- at the end of ch. 51 is, The words of Jeremiah end here; ch. 52 returns to a description of the fall of Jerusalem.