Let’s begin a study of the Bible’s next-to-last Chapter. Revelation 21 (with maybe a glance at the opening few verses of Revelation 22 as well) … which depicts the “New Heaven” and the “New Earth.”

Apparently God plans to eventually replace both!

Here’s proof: “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.” Revelation 21:1

John, as as a Prophet, recorded these words.

Isaiah, another great Prophet, also wrote long ago (700 years before Jesus’ Virgin Birth) about the “New Heavens” and the “New Earth.” For example: “For, behold, I (the Lord speaking) create NEW HEAVENS and a NEW EARTH: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.” Isaiah 65:17

And again: “For as the NEW HEAVENS and the NEW EARTH , which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name (Israel) remain.” Isaiah 66:22

The Greek verb “were passed away” (back in Revelation 21:1) means “gone aside.” They (heaven and earth) are “past” now. Once in the New Testament (King James Version) this verb, “parerchomai,” is translated “to pass over.”

Wow, “to pass over!”

Because of the original PASSOVER (picturing Jesus’ shed Blood on the Cross) … this old sin tainted earth where will live will some day “pass over” and pass out of existence! Simon Peter put it this way in his Epistle: “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness. Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?” Second Peter 3:10-12

Hence, the need for a new earth!

The “heavens” also have been sin soiled in like fashion. The devil being the “prince of the power of the air.” He being the leader of the forces of “spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Alluding to both Ephesians 2:2 and Ephesians 6:12.)

Our Text again: “And I (John on the Isle of Patmos) saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.”

The “no more sea” (Israel has never loved the Ocean, always being a “people of the land”) phrase could be a reference to such passages as: “But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.” Isaiah again, 57:20 this time.

All evil is GONE … in the “New Heaven.”

Sounds like a wonderful environment!

More tomorrow, the Lord willing, we’ve just begun!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

Since we leave LaGrange, Georgia this morning (the Revival here having ended last night) … and drive through Atlanta going home to Tunnel Hill, Georgia … and then nearly immediately leave heading toward tonight’s (and Friday night as well) Revival Meeting in Coalmont, Tennessee …

THE LESSON FOR TODAY WILL INSTEAD BE WRITTEN AND POSTED TOMORROW MORNING.

I trust you will pray for us on this busy day.

Thanks to those of you who study with me here so faithfully.

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

PSALM 78 … it’s a long Psalm, consisting of 72 verses. In fact, I just looked and it is the second longest chapter in the whole Book of Psalms!

It tells a large slice of the history of the Nation of Israel.

From the time she she left Egypt all the way to the time David reigns as her King. About a 500 year period of time, in round figures.

Verses 1-8 are a Sermon on “teaching your children” the mighty Works of God!

Verses 9-17 tell about God’s miraculous Power displayed at the Exodus, when Israel left slavery behind to travel to her “Promised Land.”

Verses 18-31 talk about God’s Plan to give Israel (then around 2 million people) food in the wilderness, in the desert! Yet the people did not appreciate God’s Bounty, complaining about their miraculous diet!

Verses 32-39 show how the Nation “acted” like they loved God, but their hearts were “far from Him.” Here God’s Grace is particularly magnified.

How soon we forget! Verses 40-55 remind a people to whom God has been so good … about her neglect and lack of gratefulness. Verse 42 is typical: “They remembered not His Hand, nor the day when He delivered them from the enemy.” So sad.

Verses 55-64, with the Jews now safely in the Land, in Canaan, they still blatantly disobey God! And the Lord removes the Tabernacle (His Holy Tent) from a place called Shiloh. A place riddled with apostasy.

Then finally in Verses 65-72 God refuses the old leadership of Israel (Ephraim) and transfers power to the Tribe of Judah, thus highlighting the Davidic Monarchy. David is a “hero” in this Psalm, for sure.

This beautiful Poem (Psalm 78) starts with “teach your children God’s Ways” and ends with a godly leader “like a shepherd,” caring for his little lambs.

It is truly a didactic Chapter, one designed to “teach” us the things of God!

Oh, it ought to be preached more than it is.

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

Today we reach the last verse of Psalm 78. “So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands.” Here Israel is depicted as having a good leader, which was often not the case in her history.

Upon reading our verse, I couldn’t help but wonder, “Who is this competent leader?”

In my heart I thought, “It must be the Lord himself.” Who else would have possessed such “integrity” of heart?” The Hebrew noun used here is derived from “taman,” meaning “complete, finished,” also “full, whole,” that is, not divided in any way.

But I can’t find a single scholar, commentator, or preacher to agree with that assessment! Instead, based on the “context” of the verse, all present “David” as the skilled King of Israel!

Now, here is that “setting” (“context”) in which the verse is embedded, to which it is linked. “He (the Lord, no doubt) chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds: from following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance. So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands.”

I have underlined the pronouns, whose antecedent perplexes me.

If verse 72 hinges on verse 70, David is in view. And, indeed, despite his sins, David was called (in the Bible) “a man after God’s Own Heart.” Here’s the exact verse, Acts 13:22. “I (the Lord) have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.” What grace!

Furthermore, the verb “guided” in our Text (“So he fed them … Israel …  according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands”) is spelled “nachah” and means “to lead,” but also “to govern,” like a King I suppose.

And the word “skillfulness” is “tabun,” grammatically suggesting “understanding, discretion,” often a parallel to wisdom in Scripture.

So, David certainly may be the protagonist (main character) in the verse. If so, the Psalm certainly does lead us from slavery in Egypt … to the Monarchy in the Holy Land, David being King.

BUT … I STILL REALLY WONDER IF THE PSALM COULD NOT END WITH AN EMPHASIS NOT JUST ON DAVID, VERSES 70-71 … BUT AN INSISTENCE THAT GOD IS THE ONE WHO FEEDS WITH INTEGRITY AND LEADS WITH SKILL … VERSE 72.

Our great God!

For truly, David aside for a second, Who but our Heavenly Father, our true Shepherd, could completely fulfill the verse? “So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands.” That’s my thought, anyway.

That, in keeping with Colossians 1:18 … “And He (Jesus) is the Head of the body, the church: Who is the beginning, the Firstborn from the dead; that in all things He (still Jesus) might have the preeminence.”

Amen!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

We, working through the verses of Psalm 78, have traced Israel’s national history. From the time of the Exodus, her miraculous deliverance out of slavery in Egypt … until the beginning of her brightest days (so far), the reign of King David, son of Jesse.

Today we notice verses 70-71, part of the Psalm’s last paragraph. “He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds: from following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance.”

The “He” of our Text is none other then the Lord Himself. He selected David to be King. First Samuel chapter 16 shares the story of David’s initial anointing.

The name “David” means “beloved.” One who “loves” … in the end hungering for God with all his heart. The word for love incorporated into his name suggest “fervent, boiling, eager love,” not some lukewarm substitute.

The noun “servant” is “ebed,” a common “slave,” really! Once we have been saved, redeemed, we are all “servants” of Jesus Christ! So says Paul in the New Testament.

Note that God “took” David (spelled “laqach” in Hebrew, a strong verb meaning “lay hold of, seize, fetch,” once even “to marry”) from the “sheepfolds.” The young man obviously was a shepherd, watching his family’s flock. So was our Lord such a shepherd! He called Himself from time to time “the good shepherd,” and later the New Testament labels Him “the great shepherd,” and “the chief shepherd.”

The Old Testament often calls Israel’s leaders (particularly her kings) “shepherds.” Some were good and others bad, of course.

Clearly, shepherding here is emphasized as requiring “tender care” of the ewes, even those who are “with young,” expecting to give birth to little lambs!

And when David becomes King, he is just to “transfer” his job description from caring for a flock of sheep to leading a flock of God’s people! (The very “word picture” the Lord uses for a “Pastor” in today’s New Testament Church format!)

A King, charged with “feeding” his people! “The Lord chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds: from following the ewes great with young he brought him TO FEED Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance.”

This verb “feed” translates “raah,” a key Old Testament action word meaning “to see, to oversee, to care for, to keep a careful eye” on one’s charge!

What a concept!

A national leader … caring for his citizenry with concern, pathos, and a mind to their spiritual wellbeing!

What a prophetic picture of Jesus, our Lord!

Listen to Him: “I am the GOOD SHEPHERD: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” John 10:11, His Death here being emphasized.

And about Him: “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that GREAT SHEPHERD of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” Hebrews 13:20-21, now His Resurrection is in view.

And also: “And when the CHIEF SHEPHERD shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.” First Peter 5:4, finally His Second Coming is highlighted!

Amen!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell