v.3 The position of the tribes around the Tabernacle.

Notice the positioning of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. This provides the environment for the uprising of Numbers 16.

The arrangement of the tribes around the tabernacle signified a unity of community.  I wonder if there was a similar theme in the arrangement at the last supper.  Could it be that the disciples were placed around the four-legged table (Gr. trapeza) three on each side (Luke 22:21).  The Lord would be on one of the sides, of course, representative of the tabernacle in the wilderness arrangement.

The Tabernacle was at the centre of Israelite life (or should have been).  Much later, in    Britain, the Parish Church was always tall enough with steeple or spire to be seen.  And with us?  The Truth should be the centre of our lives, the tallest thing on our horizon.  "To me to live IS Christ." (Phil 1:21)

2      Israel were the ‘church in the wilderness’ Acts 7:38. The ordered nature of their camp and marching sets a pattern for ecclesial life. This is not to be taken as support for the idea that each of us has our own seat in the meeting room. Rather ecclesial life should be ordered and disciplined.

2:3       The word ‘standard’ actually is also translated ‘chiefest’ – Song 5:10. This helps us to appreciate the relationship between the head of the tribe and the way in which the standard highlighted his position.

2:2 The tabernacle has been set up now for about a month – see Exodus 40:17 and Num 1:1. So this is the first organisation of the tribes into camps that we read about.

2:34  The way in which the nation were to camp in an organised way not only made for a structured journey through the wilderness but helped to engender a ‘family spirit’ in the nation in preparation for living in the land in their separate tribes.

Psalm 145 :4 Praise is not something which only gives glory to God. It is a process of educating others also. In telling the following generations of the good ness of God we are praising Him. If we can speak of the way in which God has worked in our lives then those following on after us will find it easier to have the same confidence.

Psalm 146 Whilst we might use v3-4 to show that death ends all - the grave cannot praise God - in reality the purpose of the observation by the Psalmist is to plead with God that he might be allowed to live in order that he can praise Him.

Psalm 147 The contrast between God's care for mankind in verses 2-3 with His majesty as shown in v4 is amazing. That the creator of the whole of the universe could be concerned to take care of men and women on this tiny planet. Such care, of so insignificant people, against the magnitude of creation should humble us and at the same time cause us to be so grateful to our creator.

Psalm 146 - Like the previous Psalm this Psalm describes the miraculous works of Jesus healing the woman with the issue of blood.
:7 looseth Luke 13:12
:8 bowed down Luke 13:11

And also the year of release
:9 relieveth Leviticus 25:35.

The work of Jesus was to show that the year of release was a shadow of deliverance from sin and death, not just a holiday away from the toil of the field.

Psalm 147 - In describing the work of God as this Psalm does we see that God is concerned with both the great things of His creation [:4] 'he telleth all the starts' and the salvation of man [:3] healing the broken hearted [:6] and lifting up the meek [:9] and feeding the birds. Our God is not narrow in His care but all embracing.

145:8 One of the many places in Scripture which quote the attributes of God (Exodus 34:6)

146:3-4 In speaking of the situation of the dead the Psalmist is not simply giving Christadelphians a proof passage to show that we do not go to heaven at death. The problem with death is that in death it is not possible to praise God. So the miraculous work of Jesus is described (:8-9) as a prelude to the time when He will reign for ever (:10) when those who have died might be raised to praise him for ever, enjoying everlasting life.

147:9 In saying that God feeds the ravens we see the origin of Jesus' words (Matthew 6:26) but do we truly believe that God takes care of the birds? Or do we think that they live using their natural instincts? Scripture teaches that God cares for them and that this care He has for them should teach us that He will also care for us. If we think that the birds take care of themselves we will not truly appreciate the way that God cares for us.

145 - There is language in this Psalm which shows that it is speaking of the kingdom
:4 God is praised from one generation to another.
:11 The saints will speak – in instructing the mortal population.
:13 The kingdom is everlasting.
:16 The kingdom will be a time of abundant material blessings.

146 - The Psalm opens and closes with the request ‘praise ye the Lord’ – Hallelujah! Clearly the response of those who were healed by Jesus as exemplified in the miracles foretold in the Psalm.

147:2-6 The relationship between God ‘healing’ and ‘lifting up’ and telling ‘the number of the stars’ is this. The God who made and can number the stars surely has the ability to sustain His creation.

Psalm 145 This is the last Psalm written by Davd. It describes the moral and political supremacy of David's God.

Psalm 146  Psalms 146 through 150 Are identified as "Hallelujah Psalms" Each begins and ends with the phrase "Praise ye the Lord" The prophets Haggai and Zachariah are generally credited as being the authors of these Psalms.

145:18              We have seen that :14 seems to be echoed in the woman with the issue of blood – Luke 13:11. When she was healed she ‘glorified God’ – Luke 13:12.  So she, so to speak, took to herself the instruction of the Psalm.

145:1,8,9,13,14,15,18,20,21 -  v1 to be able to bless God forever and ever suggests David's faith/awareness that he will be resurrected to eternal life; vss 8-9 God is gracious (it is by grace we are saved Eph 2:8), full of compassion, merciful, good to all, and his tender mercies are over all His works (including His son who offered his life so those in Christ might receive mercy); vss 13-15 an everlasting kingdom and he raiseth up all all those that be bowed down (perhaps this refers to God's helping those in need in this life and the resurrection of those who gave their lives in humble service to Him)...the meat in due season (Luke 12:42) is perhaps the second coming of Christ which followers eagerly await; v18 the Lord is close to those who call upon him in truth (John 4:24); v20 the results of judgement at the second coming will be eternal life for the chosen but the wicked will be destroyed; v21 the "flesh" Heb. "basar" (1320) means "flesh (from its freshness), body, person", etc. will bless his holy name forever thus indicating those blessing will have immortality with actual bodies Rev 5:13.

146:4,5,10 - v4 we have the results of death; v5 immediately after the description of death we have a verse with the word "hope" Heb. "seber" (7664) meaning "expectation, hope" and it comes from the root "sabar" (7663) meaning "watching, to expect (with hope and patience), hope, tarry, view, wait, to scrutinize", etc. thus those who put their trust in God and die in faith still have a hope of reigning on earth with Christ (Heb 11:13-16); v10 the chapter ends with a reference to the millenium age when Christ will rule the earth from Zion.

145:4 The fathers were required to teach their sons God’s commandments – Deut 6:7 etc: - but here we see also they were to teach future generations to praise God for what He had done. The instruction of the next generation, therefore, was not simply a teaching of academic facts. It included a repeating of the personal experiences of God working in their lives.

145:10-11The ‘saints’ praise and bless God by telling of His works. The way in which we speak of God by word and action is the means whereby God is praised. Not just by the singing of hymns and saying prayers.

145:10 The word ‘saints’ <02623> is elsewhere translated

Deut 33:8   Holy

2Sam 22:26 merciful

Psa 4:3        Godly

Mic 7:2        Good

Thus we see the meaning of the word ‘saint; here. It is a person with a certain type of character.

A major focus of this chapter is that the disciples should not fear men :4,5,7,32. A crucial point that the disciples needed to understand.

12:1  Notice that Jesus speaks to the disciples ‘first’ indicating that this section of the gospel was directed, primarily, to the disciples’ needs.

v 24 we get an echo here from the psalms read today, of God's care for His creation: Psa 145:15,16, Psa 147:9

v 16-21 this man was justified in building bigger barns to store his crops, but the problem was his attitude to the plenty with which he had been blessed cp Year of Jubilee Lev 25:20,21 He saw this as an excuse for laziness, he did not share what he had with others, he did not attribute these blessings to God's gracious provision, his material possessions were his focus in life & his treasure. cp v 24,31,34

12:11 When Jesus encouraged the disciples to ‘take no thought’ what they should say he is developing a point that he made in the Sermon on the mount – Matt 6:25 – where he told them not to take any thought about where their food would come from because God would provide for them. Now he develops the idea of God’s provision to encompass other areas of their life than simply food and raiment.

God knows all about us. He also knows about little sparrows. And he knows how many hairs we have on our heads. That’s a lot more than we know ourselves (Luke 12:6,7). If we put our trust in the Lord we have absolutely nothing to fear. He KNOWS about us.

12:4   Jesus’ words of encouragement ‘be not afraid’ spoken to the disciples is against the background of the warning about the Pharisees. The encouragement to ‘fear not’ runs right through the chapter.

12:12 The way in which ‘the holy spirit’ would cause the disciples to remember what to say is not some mystical thing. Jesus later – John 14:26 - explains that this is the work of the comforter. So the disciples would only be able to repeat things that they had already heard.

12:29 In speaking of concern saying ;what shall we eat’ Jesus’ mind is going back to the law of Moses – Lev 25:20 – which speaks of the year of release.

GREED

Jesus said, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." (Luke 12:15)

If greed was one of those things that rang alarm bells before it tempted us, Jesus wouldn't have been so concerned. But greed does not announce itself. It creeps up on us, tempts us with a little bit, and a little bit more, and a little bit more again. We even make excuses as to why we need that little bit more - and often it is justified by saying we can use it for God.

Usually we don't even notice when we are starting to be affected by greed and nor do we notice when it has us in its grip. It was for this reason Jesus used the words, "Watch out!" and "Be on your guard." We need to constantly evaluate whether what we want is something we need or whether our greed is taking over. And Jesus also said, "Be on your guard against all kinds of greed." It may be money, an inheritance, food, possessions, investments or gambling. All of these can bring out the greed in us.

So let's watch out. Do we really need bigger, better or more? Could what we have been given be used in a better way? Let's not let greed catch us off guard.