June 8 – Day 160 – Psalm 69-71; Luke 14

Psalm 69 is another of King David’s desperate cries to the LORD for deliverance in a difficult time. It starts with extreme desperation. He tells us he is in a flood up to his neck. Most likely this is a metaphor, but given the extreme circumstances David lived through, it could be an actual event. Some of the events David describes also happened to Jesus on the cross, so some see this as a prophetic psalm. As David does so often, he ends the psalm with an affirmation of the LORD’s goodness and deliverance in His life.

Psalm 70 is a brief psalm of King David similar in content to the much longer Psalm 69. Again, David cries out in desperation to the LORD, and in the end, he affirms the LORD’s work in his life.

Psalm 71 is a Psalm of David, and though he mentions his adversaries, much more of this psalm is devoted to affirming the LORD’s presence in his life from the time of his birth to his old age. David makes it clear the LORD has been his foundation and stronghold throughout his life, and he is never worried in the ultimate sense that the LORD will abandon him, or fail to provide his deliverance.

As we turn to Luke 14, Jesus heals another man on the Sabbath. He does it in a Pharisee’s home, so He knew this would cause problems. Then Jesus told those around Him not to choose the best seats at a banquet, because the one in charge might move you to a lesser place. Rather start at the lesser place and let the one in charge move you to the greater position. This was certainly directed at the Pharisees’ predisposition to value their positions. Jesus continued by speaking directly to the man who had invited Him to the dinner, and told him not to invite his friends, relatives, and others who could pay him back by inviting him to their home for dinner, but rather to invite the poor and crippled, because then he would receive the reward from God.

Next, Jesus told the Parable of the Wedding Banquet, in which the guests invited first made excuses for why they couldn’t come. Then the host invited everyone who would come. What an analogy for the Kingdom of God! God chose the Jews, and when many of them rejected Him by rejecting Jesus, He opened the door to everyone. Now, through Jesus, each of us can enter.

Finally, Jesus uses several illustrations to remind us how precious the Kingdom of God is, and how we must put Him and His Kingdom before anything else in our lives: before our families, our work, even ourselves. When we do, everything will fall into its intended place, but if we don’t we will forfeit the greatest gift of all–eternal life. Always remember: do not forfeit what is eternal for what is temporary!

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