Day 262: Psalms 30–32 | Read The Bible In A Year | Bible Study with Commentary by Dr. Manny Arango

Welcome to the Bible Department podcast powered by Arma. We are walking through the entire Bible in a year. You can go to the description or thebaldapartment.com to download a reading plan and join the journey. (upbeat music) Family, welcome to day 262. We've got three solid Psalms today to study, to absorb, to read. I hope that you've already done the reading. Today we are gonna dive into Psalms 30, 31 and 32, okay? Psalms 30, 31 and 32. We are making our way through the book of Psalms. If you've already done the reading, I'm proud of you. Good job. We can dive into this episode and you'll have contacts for everything that we're going to talk about. If you haven't done the reading, you can stop the video, pause the audio, go do the reading and come on back so that, you know, you're not using this podcast as a substitute for reading the Bible, but a supplement for reading the Bible with no further ado. Like every day, let's jump into our context clues. Then we're gonna move into some nerdy nuggets and we'll always end the episode with a timeless truth. I'm really excited about the timeless truth that we've got for today, really personal. I think it's a timeless truth that's gonna resonate with all of us and I won't steal my thunder, okay? I won't get ahead of myself.

So context clues, I'm gonna give you some context for Psalm 30, Psalm 31 and Psalm 32, okay? 30, 31 and 32. So first, the context for Psalm 30 is debatable, okay? We actually get a heading for this Psalm that gives us some context. What is this? A Psalm, a song for the dedication of the temple, okay? For the dedication of the temple of David. Now, there's four different things that this could mean, okay? So just the fact that we have this title, you would maybe assume, oh, the context is pretty clear. We know exactly what's happening, not so quick. First of all, the temple is not dedicated during David's lifetime, okay? So if this is it's Psalm of David, David is not alive when the temple gets dedicated. His son Solomon is going to build and dedicate the temple. So, option number one is that David wrote this like decades in advance, okay? David wrote this knowing that one day the temple would get dedicated. So he wrote it for the future. That's awesome, he could have written it for the future. Fantastic, awesome, okay. Second option, okay, option number two. This word temple, okay, as I'm looking at this in logos, you just kind of click the word temple. That word, it gives you in logos, a little pop-up window that says or palace, okay?

Or palace, so now David is alive when his palace is built, all right? So this Psalm could be for the dedication of the temple, God's palace, or it could be the dedication of David's palace, okay? This is option number two, option number three is that David didn't write it, but it's written in the style of Davidic Psalms, okay? And this is either written for the dedication of Zerubbabel's temple, okay? Even the people come back and rebuild Jerusalem, or maybe even in the intertestamental period, okay? By Judas Maccabias, when Judas Maccabias has to dedicate the temple. That's options, it's option like three and four. And then option number five is that instead of temple, what we really mean here is tabernacle, okay? Because in David's lifetime, we don't have a temple, but we do have a tabernacle, okay? And so maybe this Psalm, the context of this Psalm, could be the return of the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, which we've already seen a plethora of Psalms that really are centered around that key moment where the Ark of the Covenant comes back into Jerusalem. So, option number one, David wrote this before the events and he wrote it for the future. And he wrote it for the dedication of the actual temple that's gonna happen in his son's lifetime. He wrote it in advance. I love that option, it's a great option.

Number two, instead of temple, the word temple could be. But maybe this was written because David is excited about the dedication of his own palace. The play show suite with a king is gonna live. Number three, it's actually written by a later generation talking about Zorobel's temple, but written in the style of David's writing. Or maybe in the intertestamental period, Jews Maccabees, when he dedicates temple. But again, written in the style of David's writing. And then number five, maybe it's not about the temple, literally, but the tabernacle. Which you could see how the words temple and tabernacle could be used interchangeably. In the same way that the words temple and palace could be used interchangeably. Because the ideas are very, very connected. The idea of tabernacle, temple, and palace are all very, very, very synonymous ideas. Even though they're not synonymous words. So those are all of our options. Five options for what the context could be for this psalm. Welcome to the Bible everybody, where we've got lots of options for what the context could be. So here's what I want you to do. I want you to think about each of those five contexts and read the psalm again. And think, like you think to yourself,

which of these contexts make this psalm come to life more? For me, I look at some of these verses. You turned wailing into dancing. You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy. I definitely think of David bringing the ark into Jerusalem, like because he's dancing before the ark of the covenant. Anyway, okay, up to you, you think about that. You ponder, you meditate. Have fun with the scriptures. Okay, Psalm 31, what's the context? This is a psalm of lamentation and praise, okay? This is a psalm of lamentation and praise. Psalm 31 is the one that we're gonna spend the least amount of time on today. Psalm 32, okay, if you look at the little title of Psalm 32, it says of David, a maskal, okay, a maskal. Okay, so the word maskal in Hebrew means to make wise. This is actually a psalm of wisdom and even more than that, we're gonna get into some specifics as we dive into our nerdy nuggets for the day. So let's go ahead transition to our nerdy nuggets. This isn't just a psalm of wisdom, but it's gonna specifically give us one area where we need to be wise. This psalm is actually a penitential psalm of personal lament, penitence. That means like remorse when someone's penitent, a prison is called a penitentiary, right? So the goal of a penitentiary is that inmates

or prisoners are supposed to be penitent. You're paying penits, okay? So penitential psalm. So this is a psalm of personal lament, not over my enemies who are trying to kill me, but over my own sin that's trying to kill me and it's a psalm of confession. So we're gonna go through this psalm because I actually think that for our timeless truth today, we all need this psalm 'cause we all sin and our own personal sin should break our own heart and we should be confessing our sins to the Lord. And I know at least from me, sometimes I get in my head and I'm like, well, God already knows I sinned. Why do I need to tell him? He's omniscient. He was there, he saw it, he saw what I did, you know? He heard it, but there's wisdom. Wisdom is often counterintuitive. So whatever your intuitive thoughts are, wisdom says, don't act that way. Wisdom is not intuitive. Wisdom is actually going against what you would naturally do and intentionally doing what's not natural, doing what your own thoughts would not lead you to do. That's wisdom, okay? So there's all types of things that are very intuitive, but wisdom says, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, instead of reacting the way that you would naturally react, how about you respond intentionally?

And that's why. So let's go to Psalm 32. This is a psalm of penitence, personal lament. I'll read it, I'll read it in the NRSV. I kind of like it in the NRSV. Happy are those or blessed are those whose transgression is forgiven. And right there, let's you know what the psalm is about, about the forgiveness of transgression. Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sins are covered. So right there, covered, okay? Humans typically will try to cover their own sin. fear, sin brings shame. So now Adam and Eve get fig leaves to cover their nakedness. David does this when he impregnates Bathsheba. He kills Uriah to what, cover his tracks. All of us try to cover our own sin, whether that's through hiding or lying or just pretending like everything's okay or not confessing or staying silent when God wants you to be honest. Man, we all cover and we all cover up or trying to fix our sin by covering up our tracks. But what happens in the story with Adam and Eve? God says, "I actually want to cover you with the skins of an animal. You've covered yourself with something that can't atone for sin, but I've made a tome it for your sin, and I want to cover you with something that required a sacrifice of blood. And in order for Adam and Eve to take the skins of the animal, they've got to take the fig leaves off." That's the scariest thing for humans to do is to remove that which we are using to cover ourselves and get naked before God again. And I would contend that the most powerful time that Adam and Eve are naked before God is not prior to their sin, but after their sin.

Because before they sinned, they didn't even know they were naked. There was no shame attached to it, but now they have to choose to be naked even when they're shamed. And I think there's power in that. And what happens, God is not there to catch them, but cover them. And once you make that switch, that God isn't primarily in your life to catch your red-handed, but to actually cover you with the blood of his son Jesus, it changes everything. Everything should cause you to run towards God, not run away from God. Every time you make a mistake, you should actually be running towards the Lord. God, I'm sorry. God, forgive me. Lord, I know that you know what happened. I'm here to confess my transgressions to you. And God, I need mercy. I need forgiveness. And what happens when we run towards God is He actually gives us the power to overcome sin. But if you take the bait of the enemy and run away from God, thinking, I don't deserve to be in God's presence. I'm ashamed to talk to God. Things between me and God are awkward because I've sinned, then what's going to happen? You're going to get weaker instead of getting stronger, and it's going to be easier to fall back into temptation. Okay? Blessed is the one who sinned, the Lord does not count against them. Don't say God doesn't count sins against us. It's not a heart of God, and in whose spirit is no deceit. So deceit isn't just lying about my sin, but it's hiding it, it's keeping it hidden. Okay? Me not confessing sin and just silently moving on with life is actually the Bible is going

to describe that as deceit. But blessed is the one in whose spirit there's no deceit. Oh God, I'll overshare. Oh man, I want to confess sin. I want to get things off my chest. When I kept silent, okay, when I didn't say anything about my sin, when I kept silent, my body wasted away, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. So if I keep sinned in and I don't say anything about it, it's me from the inside out. My bones, the thing that's supposed to provide strength and stability for my life, my bones represent the parts of me that provide strength and stability and structure. My bones wasted away through my groaning all day long for day and night. Your hand was heavy on me. My strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Okay? Secret, unconfessed sin zaps you of your strength. It saps you, saps you and zaps you, sap and zap, okay? It robs you of your strength. Here we go. And I'm going to read this in NRSV. When I acknowledged my sin to you, I acknowledge that what you already were aware of, not like I'm telling you something that you didn't know. I don't know why it's so hard for me to acknowledge it to you. I acknowledge my sin to you and I did not hide my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord. And you forgave the guilt of my sin, therefore let all the faithful pray to you while you may be found. Surely the rising of the mighty waters will not reach them, means they won't die in the flood because they've confessed their sins. You are my hiding place. You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.

I will instruct you. So this is now God talking. I will instruct you and teach you in the way that you should go. So God is saying, when you confess to me, when you talk to me about your sin, guess what I'll do? I'll counsel you with my loving eye on you. Do not be like the horse of the mule, which have no understanding. Don't be stubborn. Don't act like someone without wisdom. Remember this, a wisdom psalm. Samaschyl, psalm of wisdom. But must be controlled by bit and bridal, or they will not come to you. Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord's unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him. How did I trust in the Lord? By confessing your sins to the Lord. There's nothing communicates trust more than telling someone something that could make them look at you differently, or judge you, or make your shame worse. Okay, or make you embarrassed. Rejoice to the Lord and be glad you right, just sing, all you who are upright in heart. All right, that's Psalm 32. Family, the weight is over. My brand new book, "Crushing Chaos," is out now. And available everywhere books are sold.

Literally, today, I walked into a Barnes and Noble and I signed a bunch of copies at a physical location. So you can grab this book at a physical Barnes and Noble, or you can go to a books a million, or Amazon, or anywhere books are sold and grab a copy. If you enjoy reading the Bible from an ancient perspective, if you understand that the beauty of scripture is actually knowing it in context, then you'll love this book. And if there's any chaos in your personal life, I think that reading the Bible from an ancient perspective can actually help to crush the chaos in your life, I think this book is gonna be a New York Times bestseller. I really do. I think we wrote a good one. I think you should get a copy today. All right, back to the episode. Moves us right along into our Thomas truth. This is not just true for the Psalmist that penned this, or that wrote this, or that put it to music. We all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. All of us, oh my gosh, I remember I prayed before I preach. That's a normal thing, you know, whether it's in the green room or when I'm on the front row. And I remember this may be like six months ago, five months ago, I was at a church and I was just getting ready to preach. And I said, Lord, you know, search me,

just if there's anything offensive in me, you know, bring it to my mind. And I remember the Holy Spirit saying, you are rude to your wife. Like before you got on that airplane, before you left to come here, you need to confess to me and you need to apologize. So I remember right down the front row before I got up to preach, Lord, I'm so sorry. God, I'm sorry. That's your daughter. That's not just my wife, that's your daughter. And I can't preach for her father, which is you, and be in offense without confessing my sin to you. How can I be used by God as a mouthpiece when I just used my tongue to say something that was offensive? So God, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Please don't count my sins against me. Please, anoint me tonight. You know, give me your grace to preach. I don't wanna preach without you. I can't preach without your Holy Spirit. And the Lord said, I forgive you, now text your wife. So I'm on the front row and I'm like, babe, I'm just sorry. I should have been nicer. I'm sorry I was mean. That was wrong. You know, I was short with you. I was impatient.

I just want you to know, I apologize. I'm about to preach. And then the Holy Spirit convicted me of how I spoke to you. Man, if you're offended, please forgive me. And she texts back like, I was offended. I already forgave you, but I was offended. And I was like, you know, Lord, thank you, thank you. Thank you for instructing me and teaching me in the way I should go. That's verse eight. God says, when you confess your sin, what will He do? He'll instruct you and teach you in the way that you should go. So what did the Lord instruct me to do? To send a text to my wife, to apologize. I would never have even known that she was offended had I not confessed my sin before the Lord, acknowledged my sin before the Lord. This is a timeless truth. And here's the lie, the timeless lie of the enemy is you can fix your sin on your own. You can fix yourself. Hey, you don't have to confess your sin. Just don't do it again. And that's ridiculous. That is what your human intuition will tell you. But here's what wisdom says. People think they know the right way to go. But in the end, that way leads to destruction. Don't follow your common sense.

Follow wisdom, okay? Your common sense is not wisdom. Your common sense will get you in trouble. But asking the Lord, confessing to the Lord, acknowledging your transition before the Lord, not natural, not comfortable, but will definitely. None of us are ever going to be perfect, but the goal of the Christian life is humility and I just have nothing to hide, okay? It's not perfection, it's having nothing to hide. And the more and more I get comfortable with confessing my failures and confessing my sin, guess what, God begins to break not just the power of sin, but the power of shame off my life. I have nothing to be ashamed of, I have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. Shame will keep you silent, but you've got to make the decision to go. I may feel shame, but I'm not going to operate a shame and that, that is a timeless truth. That's not just true for Psalm 30 or 31 or 32. That's not just true for David or whoever wrote these psalms in their historical context. That's true for me, that's true for you. That's true for every Christian everywhere at all times, it's a timeless truth. All right, I hope that blesses your life. Tomorrow, we've got day 263, we're going to be in Psalm 33, 34, 35, we're going to have a great time, same time, same place, meet me right back here. If you're on a streak, I'm so, so, so, so, so proud of you. If you're not on a streak, I'm proud of you too. I'll be more proud when you get on a streak. All right. I love you so much. See you tomorrow. Peace. Thanks so much for joining us on the Bible Department podcast.

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