Dalawang Magkasalungat na Buhay sa Unang Salmo

AWIT 1, Bagong Magandang Balita Biblia

v.1 Mapalad ang taong hindi nakikinig sa payo ng masama,
at hindi sumusunod sa masama nilang halimbawa.
Hindi siya nakikisama sa mga kumukutya
at hindi nakikisangkot sa gawaing masama.

v.2 Sa halip, kasiyahan niyang sumunod sa kautusan ni Yahweh.
Binubulay-bulay niya ito sa araw at gabi.

v.3 Katulad niya'y punongkahoy sa tabi ng isang batisan,
laging sariwa ang dahon at namumunga sa takdang panahon.
Ano man ang kanyang gawin, siya'y nagtatagumpay.

v.4 Hindi gayon ang sinumang gumagawa ng masama,
ito ay tulad ng ipa, hangin ang siyang nagtatangay.

v.5 Sa araw ng paghuhukom, parusa niya'y nakalaan
siya'y ihihiwalay sa grupo ng mga banal.

v.6 Sa taong matuwid, si Yahweh ang pumapatnubay,
ngunit ang taong masama, kapahamakan ang hantungan.

1. Magkasalungat na mga Prinsipyo
Kung meron mang hindi ipinagdaramot ang mga taong walang takot sa Diyos, 'yan ay ang pagbabahagi nila ng kanilang mga prinsipyo sa buhay. Feeling talaga nila mga wais sila; papayo-payo pa. Ang kanilang mga paninindigan ay kanilang ibinabahagi sa mga personal na pag-uusap, sa kanilang mga awitin, sa kanilang mga isinusulat, sa kanilang mga ipinapaskil sa kanilang timeline at sa kanilang mga itini-tweet. Natutuwa sila kapag may sumasang-ayon sa kanilang likong pamumuhay.

Pero ayon sa unang salmo, ang tugon ng taong matuwid ay pagtanggi sa mga payo ng masasamang tao at sa kanilang mga baluktot na pangangatuwiran. Sa halip, ang mga prinsipyo sa buhay ng mga taong matuwid ay kanilang hinuhugot sa Salita ng Diyos. Ito ang kanilang patnubay sa pamumuhay.

2. Magkasalungat na Kagalakan
Ang kagalakan ng taong masama ay ang kutyain ang mga bagay-bagay na may kinalaman sa kabanalan. Wala silang interes sa mga matuwid na aral. Kapag tuturuan mo ng tama, magagalit pa sa iyo at iinsultuhin ka pa. Bakit? Kasi naman, tinatanggal mo ang kanyang happiness. Ang gusto niya happy siya, at ang happiness niya ay kalikuan.

Salungat yan sa kagalakan ng taong matuwid. Kasiyahan niya ang ipamuhay ang mga prinsipyong nahuhugot niya sa Bibliya. Marami mang pinagkakaabalahan sa buhay, hindi niya kinaliligtaang pagbulayan ang mga banal na aral araw at gabi.

3. Magkasalungat na paglalarawan
Ang taong masama ay inihalintulad sa ipang tinatangay ng hangin. Ang bagong aning trigo ay tinatahipan ng mga Hudyo gamit ang winnowing fork. Bago nila imbakin ang trigo sa kamalig, pinapatangay muna nila sa hangin ang mga ipa sapagkat wala naman itong pakinabang.

Sa kabilang banda, ang taong matuwid ay inihalintulad sa punong itinanim sa tabi ng batis. Laging luntian ang kulay nito at namumunga sa tamang panahon. Salungat sa ipang walang pakinabang, ang punong matatag, luntian at namumunga ay maraming pakinabang.

4. Magkasalungat na kinabukasan
Sa oras na hahatol ang Diyos, hindi makakatakas ang masama. Ihihiwalay siya ng Diyos sa kapulungan ng mga mututuwid tulad ng paghihiwalay sa mga tupa at kambing. Habang sila ay walang hanggang mawawalay sa presensya ng Diyos, ang mga matutuwid ay sasamahan ng Panginoon magpakailanman.

 "Tingnan ninyo, ang tahanan ng Diyos ay nasa piling na ng mga tao!
Maninirahan siyang kasama nila,
at sila'y magiging bayan niya.
Makakapiling nilang palagi ang Diyos
at siya ang magiging Diyos nila" (Pahayag 21:3)

Subalit huwag iisipin ninuman na ang mga matutuwid na tinutukoy sa Awit ay nangaligtas dahil sa kanilang sariling kabanalan. Kung babasahin ang mensahe ng buong bibliya, walang matuwid, wala kahit isa. Maliligtas lamang ang tao dahil sa sakripisyong ginawa ni Kristo sa krus. Ito ay biyayang kaloob ng Diyos at tinatanggap sa pamamagitan ng pananampalataya lamang. Ang kontribusyon ng Awit na ito sa kabuuan ng teolohiya ng Bibliya ay ang katotohanan na ang mga nananampalataya sa Diyos ay kakikitaan ng buhay na banal, salungat sa buhay ng mga hindi kabilang sa kanyang kawan.

Things that Haven't Changed Before and After the Flood

Photo Credit: Answers in Genesis

In a game show, the participant chose bag #17. When she was asked by the host why, she replied it is the date of her son's birthday. A politician willingly paid a large amount just to acquire a license plate with the figure 777 on it because he believes it is his lucky number. This is numerology, the occultic belief that numbers have special meanings and that they have influence in our lives.

Even bible-believing Christians can fall into numerology. This happens when they ignore sound hermeneutics and exchange it for preoccupation with the alleged meanings of numbers in the Bible. One such case is when Bishop Dan Balais of Intercessors for the Philippines (IFP) added the product of 70 X 7 to 1521 (the year Ferdinand Magellan reached the Philippine Islands) to arrive at the interpretation that 2010 is the Philippines' Jubilee year.

Recently, we have witnessed another case of numerology applied to the bible. Heavy habagat rains brought damages to Luzon. People checked the date and it was August 7, 2012 or 08-7-2012. They turned their bibles to Genesis 8:7-12 and concluded that God has a message for us and it has something to do with the Noah's ark. But for us to hear God's message in the Bible, we must not resort to numerology. We must instead read it through the lens of proper biblical interpretation.

I have read the story. I did not start with 8:7 and end with verse 12. I read the whole narrative and here I offer three things that haven't changed before and after the flood.

1. The Sinfulness of Man hasn't changed
The people of Noah's day were all descended from Adam just like us. Eversince sin entered the world through our first parents, every member of the human race are all born with an inherent moral corruption. So it is recorded that before the cataclysm: "The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time." (Gen.6:5).

Though Noah's son's were flood survivors, they were not left untouched by the sin that originated in Adam. So after the flood, the Psalmist declares: "Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward and speak lies." (Psalm 58:3)

You may think that because of the advances in civilization, man's heart has improved. No! The malady of man's soul that made him reject Noah's 120-year period of preaching righteousness hasn't changed.  Don't be surprised then if only a few are accepting the gospel message today.

2. The Wrath of God Against Sin and Sinners Hasn't Changed
In the flood account, we we see a God who was furious against sin. He decisively judged that world, and after it was done, there was no hint of regret in him.

Imagine how ugly the world was when the waters subsided. No one would sing All Things Bright and Beautiful then with the sight of mess all around. No surviving forest. No more beautiful gardens. The seas were a mixture of water, mud, sediments and perhaps dead bodies. Everything was ugly. To the survivors, it would have been a testimony of how God deals with sin.

If the sinfulness of man hasn't changed, what would a holy and righteous God feel about it? Was he wrathful against sin and sinners then yet somehow there is a change in his character that makes him indifferent towards wickedness now? Is he not the same yesterday, today and forever? Let post-flood Scriptures speak:

Deuteronomy 9:7-8
"Remember this and never forget how you provoked the LORD your God to anger in the desert. From the day you left Egypt until you arrived here, you have been rebellious against the LORD. At Horeb you aroused the LORD's wrath so that he was angry enough to destroy you."

Psalm 7:11
"God is a righteous judge, a God who expresses his wrath every day."

2 Peter 3:10
"But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare."

3. The saving grace of God hasn't changed
Genesis 6:9 testifies to the fact that Noah was a righteous man in that age of wickedness. Yet that must not be taken as to mean that Noah was sinless. I have a strong proof that Noah was a sinner just like the rest of us. My proof is 9:28 where we are told that Noah died at the age of 950. The wages of sin is death, right? (Romans 6:23). He too deserved God's wrath yet he was shown favor; he was given a way of escape, and righteous Noah obeyed by building the ark.

In our time, God still saves by grace. Just as all who were inside the ark were kept safe and sound, so all who are found in Christ are free from God's wrath.

Romans 5:9
"Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!"

1 Thessalonians 1:9b-10
"They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead--Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath."

Mata ng Diyos (Wolfgang)

Rev. 6:16

They called to the mountains and the rocks,

"Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!"

Mata ng Diyos

Wolfgang

Pagdilat ng kanyang mga mata, ang buong paligid ay makulay. Siya ay gumising sa umagang ubod ng ganda. Subalit ang kaligayahang kanyang nadarama ay biglang napalitan ng takot na walang kapantay. Ang sumira sa kanyang payapang araw: siya ay tinitigan ng Diyos na hukom.

Ipinakita sa kanya ang lahat ng kanyang pagkakasala at sa kauna-unahang pagkakataon ay kanyang napansin ang bahid ng dugo sa kanyang mga kuko. Kumaripas siya ng takbo papalayo mula sa mga nanlilisik na mata ng Diyos, ngunit sino nga ba ang makakaiwas sa presensya ng Diyos? Wala.

Ang Pahayag 6:12-16 ay pangunang-silip sa kung ano ang mangyayari sa oras na mabatid ng mga tao na ibubuhos na ng Diyos ang kanyang poot sa daigdig. Sa kaganapan ng dakilang lindol, pangingitim ng araw, pamumula ng buwan at pagkahulog ng mga tala, magigimbal sa takot ang mga 'di mananampalataya. Iiwanan nila ang kabihasnan at ikukubli ang kanilang mga sarili sa mga yungib at mga kabundukan . Ngunit higit sa lahat ng kanilang mga kinatatakutan ay ang pagharap nila sa Diyos Ama at sa kanyang Kordero. Mas nanaisin pa nila na sila ay bagsakan ng mga bato at bundok kaysa sila ay titigan ng napopoot na Diyos.

Iyan nga ang sasapitin ng lahat ng hindi nanampalataya sa Korderong Tagapagligtas. Subalit sa atin na pinagkalooban ng pananampalataya, walang tayong dapat ikatakot o ikabahala.

1. Sa mga mata ng Diyos, tayo ay napatawad na. Tayo ay katanggap-tanggap sa kanyang harapan. May kapayapaan na sa pagitan natin at ng Diyos (Roma 5:1)

2. Sa mga mata ng Diyos, tayo ay malinis na. Wala na ang bahid ng dugo sa ating mga kuko. Ang kanyang dugo ang siyang naglinis sa atin (Heb. 9:14)

3. Sa mga mata ng Diyos, tayo na mga makasalanan ay ibinilang bilang matuwid. Sa ating pakikipag-isa kay Kristo, ang kanyang katuwiran ay ibinilang na atin. (1 Cor.1:30; 2 Cor. 5:21)

4. Sa mga mata ng Diyos, tayo ay mga sinisintang anak. Hindi mga rebelde o mga kriminal na dapat puksain ang tingin niya sa atin. Malaya tayong tawagin siyang "Ama" (Juan 1:12; Gal. 4:6); tayo ay mga anak na kanyang inaalagaan, iniingatan at pamamanahan ng 'di mabilang at 'di masukat na mga pagpapala. Hindi panlilisik ng mata ang sasalubong sa atin kundi mga sulyap ng pag-ibig.

An Illustration: The Mockery of Leaving the Guilty Go Unpunished

For the IBF Bantamweight Title

Abner Mares vs. Joseph Agbeko

Referee: Russell Mora

August 13, 2011

GUEST POST: God’s Exaltation of His Godhood and Solitariness in His Judgment Against His Mockers

by Sheila Marie Andales

Scripture:2 Kings 19:8-19, 35-36

Background/Context:

The context of this passage is primarily the hostilities between Judah and Assyria during the reign of King Hezekiah of Judah and King Sennacherib of Assyria.

Judah (Southern Kingdom) was ruled by King Hezekiah, a king who did what was right in the sight of the Lord. He is known to have trusted in the LORD so that after him was none like him among all kings of Judah, nor who were before him, for he held fast to the LORD. He did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments. The Lord was with him and he prospered wherever he went.

On one hand, Assyria, led by King Sennacherib was a very powerful nation able to conquer the neighboring nations of Israel and Judah.

Before King Hezekiah of Judah became king, his father submitted to Assyria. But King Hezekiah rebelled against him and asserted independence. Thus, Sennacherib, the Assyrian king, sent messengers to demand Hezekiah’s complete surrender.

Sennacherib, through his messengers, threatened King Hezekiah and reproached Judah’s living God, saying:

“Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying: ‘Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria’. Look! You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands by utterly destroying them; and shall you be delivered? Have the gods of the nations delivered those whom my fathers have destroyed…?” (vv.10-12)

Two Observations on Sennacherib’s Threat:
From this, I gleaned two observations from Sennacherib’s threat:

First, Sennacherib and his messengers falsely accused God. Through Isaiah, the prophet, the LORD assured Hezekiah that He would deliver him. Hezekiah trusted the LORD and he encouraged the people of Judah. He gathered them together and said,

“Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor before all te multitude that is with him; for there are more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles”.

Sennacherib, on one hand, accused God of deception. He accused God of deceiving Judah in promising victory for them. He accused God of being powerless to give victory for his people.

The second observation is that Sennacherib and his messengers mocked God. They did this by equating and likening the One True God with the gods of the surrounding nations. They placed God at the same level with the gods of the gentile nations. They likened Him to the powerless gods of the Gentiles.

Hezekiah’s Response:
As a response, Hezekiah sought the LORD and pleaded for the exaltation of God’s Godhood through victory over Sennacherib and his army. In his prayer, he affirmed the power of God, by saying: “You have made the heavens and the earth”(v.15). He pointed out the non-existence of Gentile gods as the reason of the Gentile nations’ defeat while affirming the existence and power of God as the ground of his hope for deliverance. He says in vv15b and 19:

“You are God , You alone of all the kingdoms of the earth.. Now, therefore, O LORD our God, I pray, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the LORD God, YOU ALONE.”

God’s Response to Hezekiah:
God exalted His Godhood in His judgment against Sennacherib and the Assyrian army. The Angel of the LORD slaughtered 185,000 men of Sennacherib’s army. In Psalm 76, the slaughter was attributed to the LORD Himself

“[God] broke the arrows of the bow, the shield and sword of battle… The stouthearted were plundered; they have sunk in to their sleep; and none of the mighty men have found use of their hands. At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot and horse were cast into dead sleep”.

Moreover, God’s Word regarding the death of Sennacherib came to pass. He was assassinated by his sons while worshipping in the temple of Nisroch his god. God punished His mockers.

Instructions Gleaned from the Passage:
Certain instructions can be gleaned through this passage.

First, this account instructs us about the God who demands our worship. The God who demands our worship is a God of truth who promised punishment on His mockers. He is mocked when people persist in their evil ways, waywardness, and unbelief. He shows Himself strong for those whose heart is loyal to Him but shows Himself just and powerful to the rebellious and unbelieving. He deceives not. What He promises will surely come to pass. His promised punishment will surely come to pass.

The God who demands our worship is also the Only True God. He is solitary in His ESSENCE and BEING. No one can be compared to Him. We could not liken him to gods made of wood or stone. We could not reduce Him to something He is not. He is unequal. He cold not be likened to any created things or beings. Thus, he has the right to demand a bowing before His SUPREMACY and INCOMPARABILITY.

Second, this account instructs us about proper attitude in worship.

Since the God we worship is a powerful God who punishes His mockers, we should fear Him. In Ps. 76, a psalm believed by most scholars to have been written after God’s slaughter of Sennacherib’s army, the psalmist exhorted Judah to fear God (Ps. 76:7 “You, Yourself, are to be feared; And who may stand in Your presence when once You are angry?”). This fear has two results. First, it results to resolutions to fulfill one’s obligations to Him. Second, it results to expressions of homage and gratitude (Ps. 76:11 “Make vows to the LORD your God , and pay them: Let all who are around Him bring presents to Him who ought to be found.”). Worship, which is manifested trough godly living and yielding of one’s self, has the fear of God as its foundation.

Since the God we worship is also SUPREME and INCOMPARABLE, our worship should likewise be SUPREME and INCOMPRABLE. Our worship should match His supremacy and incomparability. May our affections be devoted wholly to the ONLY TRUE GOD. May our devotion to Him be unrivaled just as He Himself is unrivaled.
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