The Blessings of Israel

1“But now listen, O Jacob, My servant,

And Israel, whom I have chosen:

2Thus says the Lord who made you

And formed you from the womb, who will help you,

‘Do not fear, O Jacob My servant;

And you Jeshurun whom I have chosen.

3For I will pour out water on the thirsty land

And streams on the dry ground;

I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring

And My blessing on your descendants;

4And they will spring up among the grass

Like poplars by streams of water.’

5This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’;

And that one will call on the name of Jacob;

And another will write on his hand, ‘Belonging to the Lord,’

And will name Israel’s name with honor.

Justification by Faith Evidenced in Old Testament

1What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? 2For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” 4Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. 5But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness, 6just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

7“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven,

And whose sins have been covered.

8Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account.”

9Is this blessing then on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say, “Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.” 10How then was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised; 11and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them, 12and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised.

13For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified; 15for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no violation.

16For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 17(as it is written, “A father of many nations have I made you”) in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist. 18In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” 19Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; 20yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, 21and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. 22Therefore it was also credited to him as righteousness. 23Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, 24but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.

1) How does Isaiah describe יהוה’s blessing on Israel’s descendants?

2) How does Paul connect Abraham’s faith to the hope of many nations?

3) How can we stand firm in hope when circumstances look impossible?

David’s Victory over the Amalekites

1Then it happened when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid on the Negev and on Ziklag, and had overthrown Ziklag and burned it with fire; 2and they took captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great, without killing anyone, and carried them off and went their way. 3When David and his men came to the city, behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters had been taken captive. 4Then David and the people who were with him lifted their voices and wept until there was no strength in them to weep. 5Now David’s two wives had been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite. 6Moreover David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

7Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Please bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I pursue this band? Shall I overtake them?” And He said to him, “Pursue, for you will surely overtake them, and you will surely rescue all.” 9So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those left behind remained. 10But David pursued, he and four hundred men, for two hundred who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor remained behind.

11Now they found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David, and gave him bread and he ate, and they provided him water to drink. 12They gave him a piece of fig cake and two clusters of raisins, and he ate; then his spirit revived. For he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights. 13David said to him, “To whom do you belong? And where are you from?” And he said, “I am a young man of Egypt, a servant of an Amalekite; and my master left me behind when I fell sick three days ago. 14We made a raid on the Negev of the Cherethites, and on that which belongs to Judah, and on the Negev of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire.” 15Then David said to him, “Will you bring me down to this band?” And he said, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring you down to this band.”

16When he had brought him down, behold, they were spread over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing because of all the great spoil that they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. 17David slaughtered them from the twilight until the evening of the next day; and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled. 18So David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and rescued his two wives. 19But nothing of theirs was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that they had taken for themselves; David brought it all back. 20So David had captured all the sheep and the cattle which the people drove ahead of the other livestock, and they said, “This is David’s spoil.”

PSALM 116

Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Death.

1I love the Lord, because He hears

My voice and my supplications.

2Because He has inclined His ear to me,

Therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live.

3The cords of death encompassed me

And the terrors of Sheol came upon me;

I found distress and sorrow.

4Then I called upon the name of the Lord:

“O Lord, I beseech You, save my life!”

5Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;

Yes, our God is compassionate.

6The Lord preserves the simple;

I was brought low, and He saved me.

7Return to your rest, O my soul,

For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

8For You have rescued my soul from death,

My eyes from tears,

My feet from stumbling.

9I shall walk before the Lord

In the land of the living.

10I believed when I said,

“I am greatly afflicted.”

11I said in my alarm,

“All men are liars.”

12What shall I render to the Lord

For all His benefits toward me?

13I shall lift up the cup of salvation

And call upon the name of the Lord.

14I shall pay my vows to the Lord,

Oh may it be in the presence of all His people.

15Precious in the sight of the Lord

Is the death of His godly ones.

16O Lord, surely I am Your servant,

I am Your servant, the son of Your handmaid,

You have loosed my bonds.

17To You I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving,

And call upon the name of the Lord.

18I shall pay my vows to the Lord,

Oh may it be in the presence of all His people,

19In the courts of the Lord’s house,

In the midst of you, O Jerusalem.

Praise the Lord!

26Then I will restore your judges as at the first,

And your counselors as at the beginning;

After that you will be called the city of righteousness,

A faithful city.”

27Zion will be redeemed with justice

And her repentant ones with righteousness.

28But transgressors and sinners will be crushed together,

And those who forsake the Lord will come to an end.

29Surely you will be ashamed of the oaks which you have desired,

And you will be embarrassed at the gardens which you have chosen.

30For you will be like an oak whose leaf fades away

Or as a garden that has no water.

31The strong man will become tinder,

His work also a spark.

Thus they shall both burn together

And there will be none to quench them.