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Hey, Bible nerds. This is Dr. Manny Arango and I'm your host for the Bible department podcast powered by Arma. This podcast follows a Bible reading plan we created to help you read the entire Bible in a year. You can head to the show notes or thebibledepartment.com to download our reading plan and join the Journey family. Welcome to Day 100 here at the Bible Department. I'm so excited. Can you believe we're about to celebrate? 300 days down, 65 days to go. That means we're towards the end of the year. And if you are on a 300 day streak, come on, clap it up. Like that is just amazing. I'm so glad that you've decided to spend 300 days in God's Word. And I'm also honored that you spent 300 days with me as we've studied God's word. Like always, if you haven't done the reading for the day, I'm gonna ask that you stop the video, pause the audio, go get the reading done. We are towards the end of the book of Psalms. It feels like we've been in Psalms forever. Today is our second to last day in the book of Psalms. So we've got Psalms 146, 147 and 148. Today, just three Psalms. And these are beautiful, beautiful, beautiful psalms. So if you have not done the reading for the day, go get the reading done and then come back. Like always. I'm gonna provide, or I'm gonna at least attempt to provide some context clues, some nerdy nuggets, and a timeless truth so that we can not just study the Psalms, but live them out in our day to day life. All right, let's dive into what I think is some really, really, really important context. Okay? Psalms 146 to 150, okay. Are known as the final hallel. We've had multiple collections of Halels. That word hallel means praise. Okay. And so this is the final praise or the final hallel. Here's a challenge. I actually would challenge you to read today and tomorrow's reading together as one. I would love for you to read Hillel all together with no breaks. Okay? So Psalms 146 to 150 is a collection. It's called the final halel. Okay. And I know most of you have already done the reading for today, which means you stopped it Psalm 148, but just go ahead and add on Psalm 149 and 150. I think that'd be a Good thing to do today and tomorrow to essentially, like, listen to or read the final hallelujah both today and tomorrow. So instead of reading Psalms 146, 147, and 148 today and then 149 and 150 tomorrow, just read all of it today and all of it tomorrow. I think a double dose of. Of psalms to go out with a bang would be really, really good. All right, these Psalms, okay, 1, 46, all the way to 150. Okay. These last five Psalms are most likely written by Ezra. All right, now, these are most likely written by Ezra to complete or conclude the collection of the five books. Now, the person who is arranging the psalms into five books or into five smaller collections, the person who is putting the entire collection together, the person who essentially kind of edits and crafts the Tanakh as a whole is Ezra. Ezra is going to end the Tanakh by writing two books that we typically know as more than two books, but they are two books in the original Hebrew. That first book is going to be Ezra Nehemiah. Okay. This is a book that in most of our Bibles is broken up. I'll just go to my table of contents. Okay. I don't use my table of contents much, so that felt like it was so hard to find. Okay. What we've got in the Old Testament is Ezra. I actually do not use my table of contents often, so that took a long time to find. Okay, what we have here is Ezra is one separate book. Nehemiah is another separate book. But together, these are actually one book in the original Hebrew Scriptures. Okay, but in our English translations, these are split into the Book of Ezra and the Book of Nehemiah. But in the original, it's just Ezra Nehemiah as one book. The other change is that Ezra wrote Chronicles. Okay, in the Hebrew Bible, it's just Chronicles. In your English translation, it's gonna be First Chronicles and two Chronicles. However, in the original, it's just Chronicles. So Ezra, also in the original, that is the end of the Tanakh. Okay? Ezra Nehemiah Chronicles ends the Tanakh, whereas in most of our English translations, that's somewhere in the middle the Old Testament. So not only is the ordering of the books different in the original Hebrew, but the placement, the order of the books, but also them being split in half or being split apart is also a change that I wanted to make you aware of. All right, that's enough context for today. Okay, so Ezra is probably responsible. All that to say Ezra is most likely responsible for these last five chapters or five psalms that we have here at the end of the book. And these psalms are known as the final praise or the final halel. All right, let's dive into our nerdy nuggets. Okay? Psalm 146 is going to contrast Yahweh to the princes of the world, okay? These princes are also sons of Adam or sons of man. And so Yahweh is going to get contrasted to princes, okay? These princes are leaders, kings, foreign suzerains, pharaohs, and all the people that Israel had put their trust in for. For centuries. The people that essentially Yahweh's always like, hey, don't put your trust in Egypt. Don't put your trust in any other foreign power. Don't put your trust in Saul. Don't put your trust in these sons of man or in these princes. I want you to put your trust in me, okay? So there's three distinct contrasts that the Psalm that this Psalm, Psalm 146 is going to make. The first is this, is that these sons of Adam, these sons of man, Adam come from the Adama. That word is dust or ground. Ok? So Adam is literally like dirt man. Ok? So Adam and Adamah, the word in Hebrew for dust or ground or dirt is Adama. So the reason that God names Adam Adam is because he takes him from the Adama. So why do humans return back to the soil? Because they are from the soil. They are mortal, okay? And so Yahweh is saying, why would you praise that which was made from the soil? Or trust in that which is made from the soil and is going back to the soil? Why not trust in the one who made the soil and controls mankind? And that is none other than Yahweh, okay? So what praise should be doing is creating a humility. I'm immortal. Yahweh alone is immortal. I'm going to put my faith, trust, hope not in that which is made from the dirt, but the one who makes the dirt that can make people. The next is breath, okay? Psalm 146 is adamant not to be confused with Adama, but adamant. Adamant. That's kind of a corny joke, but I think it's funny. Adamant that verse 4 human beings who cannot save princes. Don't put your trust in princes. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground. On that very day, their plans come to nothing. Remember, Yahweh forms Adam from the ground and then breathes the breath of life into him. And that breath becomes the animating spirit that brings Adam to life. Well, that word when their spirit departs is also when their breath departs. Okay, so there's another. Not only does Adam come from the dirt which God made and goes back to the dirt which God made, but man or Adam or the sons of man are reliant on the very breath that God provides. And if God doesn't breathe his spirit into every living person, then they won't be living people. And so why would you trust in people with breath when you could just trust the God who gave them the breath that they have? Again, it's helping humans to see that there is a massive difference between the source of life, which is Yahweh, which, and a resource, which are people. And so God is saying, hey, before you place your trust, before you place your faith in humans who are returning to the dust and who rely on breath from Yahweh, why not direct that faith and that trust to the one who made the dirt and the one who provided the breath? That is the ultimate, you know, argument of the Psalm. You can also see how the psalm is linking trust, faith and praise and worship. That whatever I trust in is what I have faith in, and what I have faith in is what I actually am worshiping and praising. And so there's this link between. Wait, wait, the psalms are designed to hallel to praise the Lord, and God is trying to help people to not direct praise towards princes in the sons of man, but direct praise, praise to him. And then there's a third contrast. Not only do does man go back to the dust of the earth. Not only does man rely on his breath from the only one who can give breath, which is Yahweh, but man is not faithful forever. But Yahweh alone is faithful forever. Okay, so it says this in verse 6, Yahweh is the maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. He remains faithful forever. That's kind of where everything's going. Not only does Yahweh not need breath from anybody, not only does Yahweh not return to the dust, but the thing that really sets him apart is that he's faithful forever. Number one, he's able to be faithful forever because he's the only being that can live forever. Number two, he's faithful because he's completely in control of all of his actions. He's under the influence of nobody and nothing. There is no enemy that can tempt him, or there is no flesh that can make him fluctuate. He is faithful forever. So he needs no he needs no breath because he is the source of life. He doesn't return to the dust because he made the dust. And therefore, we can conclude he's faithful. And he's not just faithful today. He's faithful forever. Okay, verses seven through nine for this Psalm. He upholds the cause of the oppressed, gives them food for the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free. The Lord gives sight to the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down. The Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow. But he frustrates the plan, the ways of the wicked. That whole. These. That whole section from verses seven all the way down to verse nine is essentially recounting what Yahweh has done for his people since the exile. He brought his people back to Jerusalem. And this is written, remember, by Ezra, post exile. These are people who are now returning to Jerusalem once their years in Babylonian captivity are over. And so these verses recount all the things that God did for his people while they were in exile, and then how his faithfulness has brought them home from exile. And here we go. It ends with, the Lord reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord. Okay, which leads us into Psalm 147. Okay, now, we ended Psalm 146 with the word Zion. And that is immediately what we're gonna pick up on in Psalm 147. Okay? How good it is to sing praises to our God. How pleasant and fitting to praise him. So we open up with a general kind of verse on praise and who we're praising. And then verse two, the Lord builds up Jerusalem. He gathers the exiles of Israel. So it's right off the heels of what's happening in Psalm 146. We immediately start with one with Psalm 147. Okay? He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars, and he calls them each by name. Okay, that's a whiplash from verse three to verse four. We're also gonna get that same whiplash from verse eight to verse nine. Okay, so let's talk about what that whiplash is. Let's talk about verse three. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. This is a God who's close. This is a God who's intimate. This is a God who is near. Okay, and then verse 4. He determines the number of the stars and calls it by name. Whoa, whoa, whoa. This is a God who's cosmic. This is a God who's far. This is The God that's transcendent. You see, right here, verse 3 and 4 are focusing on the dual nature of the reality of Yahweh's existence. That he is both holy, far away, transcendent and cosmic, yet intimate and close and acquainted with who we are. That he heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. That's compassion. That's comfort. That's close. That's a God I can touch. That's tangible. That's right here. That's. That's. That's intimate. But he determines the stars and. And knows the stars by name. Whoa. He's infinite. He's omniscient. How do you remember the name of the stars like that? You're clearly a being that is outside of the realm of my own human understanding or my finite understanding. Okay, so we're gonna get the same thing. In verse 8 to 9. He covers the sky with clouds. He supplies the earth with rain and makes the grass grow on the hills. Got it. Cosmic, powerful, almighty. He's God. He's big. He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call. But he also provides food for ravens. Again, he's close. He's intimate. He's near. He's acquainted with what we are up to. He cares for ravens, young ravens. He cares for little baby birds. But he also covers the sky with clouds, earth, rain, grass growing on the hills. But why does he do all of that? So that cattle and ravens can eat. Like, this is a God who's transcendent and far and holy and awesome. But this is also a God who's near and he's close and he's intimate. And he's got things that he's caring for that are tangible and close and small. Minute. Who cares about baby birds? God. But he cares about the big stuff and the small stuff. There is no big stuff or small stuff to him. Everything in his creation is something that's under his purview and his care. This is true omnipotence. It's omnipotence at its finest. Another just idea from Psalm 147. We extol the Lord, Jerusalem. Praise your God, Zion. Okay, you can see that. The emphasis over and over and over again. And then we're gonna get the creation. He sends commands to the earth, for his word runs swiftly, spreads the snow like wool, scatters frost, hurls down hail. Okay. He sends his word and melts them, stirs up breeze and waters blow. He has revealed his word to Jacob, his laws and decrees to Israel, he has done this for no other nation. They do not know his laws. So that's a reframing for us that the laws are not a burden, but the laws are a privilege. That the fact that God would reveal his word and his law and his decree to his people Israel is not a burden to Israel, but it's a privilege because he's not done that to any other nation. Okay, and we end with our refrain, praise the Lord, which gets us into Psalm 148. If the creation was being emphasized in a small way in 147, it's going to get emphasized in a big way in Psalm 148. So the Psalm starts the same way as all these psalms. Praise the Lord or praise Yahweh. Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him from the heights above. Praise them all as angels, Praise them all as heavenly hosts. Okay, I got a list here of all the things that are giving praise to Yahweh. Okay. Verses one through four, the heavens are praising Yahweh. Verse two, the angels and the host of heaven are going to Praise Yahweh. Verse 3, the sun, the moon and the stars are going to Praise Yahweh. Verse 4, the waters beyond the sky praise Yahweh. So in the same way that I gave you, kind of what's being praised from verses 1:4, the heavens. And then each verse, there's an aspect of the heavens that are praising him. Same thing with Psalm 148. Verses 7 through 10. Verses 7 through 10, the earth is going to praise Yahweh. Okay, what on earth? Well, in verse seven, the great sea creatures, AKA the dragons are going to praise Yahweh. Verse eight, the weather praises Yahweh. Verse nine, the mountains, the hills and the trees Praise Yahweh. Verse 10, the beast, the livestock, the creeping things and birds praise yahweh. Okay, verses 11 through 12, humanity is going to praise Yahweh. Okay, so verses 1 through 4, the heavens praise. Verses 7 through 10, the earth is going to praise. And then verses 11 through 12, humanity is Going to praise Yahweh. Verse 11, kings, people, princes and rulers all praise Yahweh. Verse 12, young men and women, old men and children praise Yahweh. It says this, let them praise the name of Yahweh, for his name alone is exalted. His majesty is above earth and heaven. That's 148. 13. The Psalm ends with just one mention of Israel. Okay. Who are not described as praising him as all the rest. But it is the climax of the psalm and also the springboard for the next psalm. I want you to see how some of these psalms weave. Where one psalm ends, the next psalm picks up. Okay? These are written as an interconnected collection. Interconnected whole, maybe. Yeah. Psalms 146 all the way to 150. Like, they are designed as a unit. So everything praises Yahweh, Okay? The heavens, the earth, humanity. Okay? Everything praises Yahweh down, and then until you get down to the end. Okay? So Psalm 148, verse 13. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted. His splendor is above the heavens and the earth. Verse 14. And he has raised up for his people a horn. Okay? Everything's praising Yahweh. Everything's praising Yahweh. Everything's praising Yahweh. And now Yahweh is doing something for his people. He's raised up for his people a horn. The praise of all his faithful servants of Israel, the people close to his heart. Praise the Lord. And what I have written down in my notes is literally everything that has been created is designed to praise Yahweh. Yahweh is praised by all. And then here's what Yahweh does. He strengthens his own. He raises up a horn. He reaches down and raises up a horn for his people. A horn is usually associated with strength or glory. Yahweh is glorified by all. And then Yahweh strengthens and glorifies his own. Praise Yahweh. Hallelujah, family, the wait is over. My brand new book, Crushing Chaos, is out now and available everywhere. Books are sold, literally. Today I walked into a Barnes and Noble and I signed a bunch of copies at a physical location. So you can grab this book at a physical Barnes and Noble, or you can go to a Books A Million or Amazon or anywhere books are sold and grab a copy. If you enjoy reading the Bible from an ancient perspective, if you understand that the beauty of scripture is actually knowing it in context, then you'll love this book. And if there's any chaos in your personal life, I think that reading the Bible from an ancient perspective can actually help to crush the chaos in your life. I think this book is going to be a New York Times bestseller. I really do. I think we wrote a good one. I think you should get a copy today. All right, back to the episode. I want to end on our timeless truth, just like always. One of the things that is timelessly true is we are timelessly navigating the tension between the transcendent reality of a holy God who, who is wholly other, and also relating to an intimate God who is right here, right in our space. We are constantly just holding intention, the omnipresence of God, like He's everywhere, all the time. There's nowhere where I can flee from his presence, but also there are times where his manifest presence is so close. And this is why I love the person of the Holy Spirit. Because in the person of the Holy Spirit we encounter the grandeur, the holiness, the magnificence of an awesome and great God, but also a God that wants to take up residence in us and who wants to talk to us. And we are always going to have to balance or hold the tension between these juxtaposing realities and the moment we fall into either one or the other. Our relationship with God is either going to reflect the fact that we think that he's transcendent or the fact that we think he's just close. And so I want you to actually begin to maybe journal. I know I don't give homework a lot here on the podcast, but I'd love for you to journal. Which of these two realities do you connect with more? I personally have always connected more just immediately with the transcendent, awe inspiring, strong, omnipotent creator of the universe, God. And sometimes I can struggle with the near, close, intimate dad that he wants to be and that he is like in my life. And so God's holiness, His other than me ness, his bigness, his grandeur, not very hard for me to conceptualize, but the small, minute, detail oriented God, the God that cares about everything happening in my life, the God who is down to be interrupted, you know, knows me in a really, really close way. That God has been harder or at least not as natural for me to connect with. And so it's hard for me to think about God as my friend. It's easy for me to think about him as the ruler of the universe. And so that's just me. Okay, So I, in my own personal walk with the Lord, I need to begin to err on the side of he's my constant companion, he's close, he's here and invite him into my day to day. And you may be opposite me. Him being close, him being friend, him being near, him being intimate, maybe the thing that you immediately vibe with, but then you respecting him, honoring him, exalting him and worshiping him in all of his grandeur and his glory, may be the thing that's hard for you. A Let us know in the comments if you're watching this on YouTube, but also, like, journal about that. And that is a clear tension that is true in the Psalms. But that's not just bound by history. That's also a reality that you and I are walking with. And that's not a problem to solve, but it's a tension to manage. And I wanna know in the comments how you're managing that tension. And I want you to apply that as your timeless truth for today. All right, tomorrow we've got Psalms 149 and 150. We are finishing the Book of Psalms tomorrow for day 301. I'm so excited about it. But remember, here's my challenge. I'd love for you to read all of the final Hallel today and all of the final Hallel tomorrow. Read all five of these Psalms as a unit, both today and tomorrow. I'll see you right here tomorrow. Same day, Same. Well, no. Not same day. Same time, same place. I'm so proud of you. I love you so much. So glad we're on this journey together. 300 days down, 65 days to go. I'll see you tomorrow. Peace. Thanks so much for joining us on the Bible Department Podcast. You can find us online and learn more about the show at thebibledepartment.com and on Instagram hebible department. If you enjoyed this episode and want to dive deeper into the Bible, you can get free access to our library of courses@thebibledepartment.com we'll see you back here tomorrow.