Psalm 69; Jer. 5:1-9; Rom. 2:25-3:18; John 5:30-47
Though the prophet calls the city/nation to repent, and the Lord has brought calamity on them, they will not repent. In I Kings 8 we hear Solomon’s prayer for such times as this, when the nation has turned away from the Lord and He has punished them, when they turn again to Him that He will hear and will relent and bless them again. The Lord has promised that He will forgive and will restore the covenant blessings and yet they will not give up their apostasy. The prophet begins with the belief that it is only those who do not know the truth who refuse to turn back to the Lord so he goes to the great, those who know the truth, and they too refuse to repent. The nation has completely forsaken the Lord and gone after other gods, those who are not gods, those who promise to satisfy their lustful desires.
Jesus has His first serious confrontation with the leaders in Jerusalem. His accusation against them is that they who believe themselves to be righteous followers of Yahweh are actually so blinded that they are unable to see Him standing before them. Their problem with Him here is that He has healed a blind man on the Sabbath and told the man to take up his mat and walk. They have surely seen this man these many years and therefore there is no excuse for not giving glory. There has been no set-up, no false healing. Jesus points to John as His witness as well as the works He is doing and says they refuse to believe the testimony and they refuse to believe the testimony of Scripture because He isn’t truly what they want. It is a common problem.
What exactly is Paul arguing here? First he says that there is advantage in being a Jew and value in circumcision and then he says that Jews are no better off than Greeks. Which is it? It depends. In that the Jews have the favor and promise of God and were given the law directly by the Lord, there is advantage yet all have sinned, with and without the law being given or known. The law does not benefit us if we don’t keep it, but our unfaithfulness in keeping the law does not nullify God’s faithfulness in forgiving iniquity. The promises of the law include God’s forgiveness, it is part of his character revealed to Moses on the mountain in Exodus 34. If it weren’t His character we would have no hope and the law tells us that God has always provided for our unrighteousness with respect to the law. What keeps us from repentance?
Make his deeds known among the peoples;
see that they remember that his Name is exalted.
Sing the praises of the Lord, for he has done great things,
and this is known in all the world.
Cry aloud, inhabitants of Zion, ring out your joy,
for the great one in the midst of you is the Holy One of Israel.
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