Psalm 52 shows us King David wrote psalms not only to praise the LORD, or to petition him for some overarching challenge in his life, but even concerning individual events that on the surface didn’t seem so major. Here, David wrote about Doeg the Edomite, who told King Saul where David was. While the event itself was not the important in the grand scheme of things. It resulted in Saul’s execution of many priests. The psalm reminds us, we can go to God with any event in our lives the “big” and the “small.”
Psalm 53 is a brief “maskil” of King David. We believe maskil is a musical term, but no one knows for certain. In it, David points out two facts regarding those who don’t believe in God, and all of us when it comes to sin: 1) The fool says in his heart there is no God; and 2) no one does what is good, not even one. It is, indeed, foolish not to believe in God, given the abundance of evidence for His existence. David didn’t have the clear example of Jesus’ life, teaching, death, and resurrection, but even in his day, ample evidence existed for God’s existence. David’s acknowledgement that all of us are sinners, was picked up on by the Apostle Paul in his teaching, and used to show us all of the universal need for salvation in and through Jesus.
Psalm 54 comes from another time in David’s life before he was king, and Saul was chasing him, and the Ziphites had told Saul where he was. David relied on the LORD for his deliverance, and called on the LORD to protect him from his enemies. David’s faith in the LORD reminds us that in every situation, whether good or evil, we must rely on the LORD. He is the only one who will not betray us.
In Psalm 55, David cries out to the LORD to deliver him from his enemies. That is common in David’s psalms, but what differs in this one, is the enemy is a former friend, one who was his companion, who fought at David’s side. The cry for deliverance if familiar, but the pain in David’s words over the identity of this enemy is obvious. In the end, David acknowledges that once again the LORD will deliver him.
As we turn to Luke 10, the first half of it is devoted to Jesus sending out 70 (or 72 depending on the translation and the manuscripts used by the English translators of the passage) to preach, teach, heal and cast out demons in the towns He was about to go in Israel. In His instructions to them, Jesus called on them to pray for the LORD of the Harvest to send workers into the harvest. He told them not to take anything extra as they went, but to rely on the generosity of the people in the places they would go. Where they were received, they were to stay and minister, where they were rejected, they were to wipe the dust off their sandals as a sign against the place. Jesus pronounced judgment against several towns in northern Israel for their rejection of Jesus and His message. When the group returned they told of the wonderful things done in Jesus’ name. Jesus told them He had seen Satan fall like lightning from the sky, and then made an vital statement about the response the group had experienced: Don’t rejoice that the demons are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in the book of Life. We must always have an eternal view in our daily lives. Even when we experience miracles in Jesus’ name, the greater miracle is we get to be with Him for eternity, because of His great salvation in our life.
In the next section of the chapter, we’re told of a teacher of the Law who came to test Jesus. The “test” was to state which teaching in the Law of Moses was greatest. Jesus turned the test on the lawyer and asked him what he thought? Jesus often did this, and in this case the lawyer couldn’t resist the opportunity to show of his knowledge. He said it was the command to love the LORD your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and your neighbor as yourself. Jesus said he had answered rightly. Test over. But the lawyer wanted to “justify” himself, so he asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus responded with a parable. We call it the Parable of the Good Samaritan, but to the Jews the idea that a Samaritan could be good, kind, and compassionate was beyond comprehension. Even so, Jesus told of a man who had fallen among thieves, was beaten and left for dead. Three men came along with an opportunity to help him: a priest, a Levite, and a Samaritan. To the shock of all His listeners, it was the Samaritan who proved to be the neighbor, the one who helped. Jesus asked the lawyer who had proven to be neighbor to the one in need? The lawyer had to respond, “The one who helped.” He wouldn’t even say Samaritan. Jesus then told him to go and do the same. What an amazing turn around. Rather than Jesus looking foolish for not knowing the answer, or giving the wrong answer. The lawyer had just been challenged to act like a Samaritan!
In the final event of chapter 10, Jesus visited the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. As Jesus sat talking and teaching, Martha busied herself with preparing a meal for the group, while Mary sat at Jesus’ feet listening. Eventually, Martha was fed up and came to Jesus challenging Him to tell her sister to help her with the food preparation. Jesus, told Martha she was worried and troubled about so many things, but only one thing was necessary, and Mary had chosen it. So what was the “one thing”? Being with Jesus. Not doing for Jesus, but being with Jesus is the necessary thing. We know from Jesus’ former miracles, He could have “prepared” the meal even if thousands were there, but investing time with Jesus is the more important matter. It’s interesting that Luke places this event immediately after the one in which Jesus told about the 72 going out and doing ministry, and the Parable of the Good Samaritan. The first two tell us of powerful activity for good, while the final one tells us there is also a time for rest, renewal and sitting at Jesus’ feet. We must ensure we take time for both in our lives. We cannot only sit at Jesus’ feet listening, but we dare not engage in frenetic activity in His name without having first done that.