from the Golden Text

Psalms 106:1

Praise ye the Lord. O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Like Psalms 78, 105, and 136, this psalm is considered a historical poem. In it, the psalmist reflects on the shortcomings of God’s people, especially their failure to honor God’s covenant with them. Yet he opens and closes with praise and thanksgiving to God (see also vv. 47, 48).

No single English word is equivalent to hesed, the Hebrew term rendered mercy in this verse. Encompassing compassion, goodness, and devotion—and sometimes translated kindness or lovingkindness (see examples in Psalms 31:21; Isaiah 63:7; Micah 6:8)—hesed expresses the faithful commitment of a covenant relationship. 

from the Responsive Reading

Psalms 17:1, 5–8, 15

Hear the right, O Lord, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips. . . . Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not. I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech. Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them. Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings. . . . As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness. 

“Apple of the eye” refers to the pupil, deemed the most precious and sensitive part of the eye. God’s care for His children is as sure as our desire to protect our eyes from harm. This image first occurs in the Song of Moses (see Deuteronomy 32:10, 11) and is repeated in Proverbs 7:2.

from Section 1

1 | Psalms 5:3, 4 

My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.

Morning was a time of Temple sacrifice and one of at least three periods set aside for prayer (along with midday and evening). A poet later entreats, “Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning” (143:8). One Bible authority notes, “The first thought of the day is prayer.”

Direct (Hebrew, ‘ārak) relates to putting things in order. Though some sources associate “direct my prayer” with arranging ritual sacrifices, its deeper significance is singleness of mind. Another commentator points out, “Prayer should not be rash; it should not be performed negligently or with a light spirit; it should engage the profound thought of the soul.”

2 | Psalms 26:2, 3, 6

Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my reins and my heart. For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth. . . . I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass thine altar, O Lord.

Examine, prove, and try all imply a kind of testing, like that used to assess the quality of metal. Taken together, they convey the writer’s longing for a thorough judgment of his integrity and righteousness.

Scholars differ on whether compassing the altar alludes to a religious processional or simply to being restored to a community of worshipers. Whatever the meaning, the petitioner is clearly proclaiming his innocence before God.

4 | Jeremiah 29:11, 13

I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. . . . And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

from Section 2

5 | Romans 6:16

Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

6 | Jonah 1:1, 2

Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. 

Unlike directives to other prophets, God’s command to Jonah is to preach His message to a city of Gentiles—to a people considered by Jews to be immoral, and whose kings had conquered all of Israel and most of Judah and laid siege to Jerusalem.

Located on the Tigris River at the intersection of major trade routes, Nineveh was a flourishing economic center. Capital of Assyria during the eighth century bc, it was believed to be the largest city in the world and home to worship of the pagan goddess Ishtar. 

The prophet Nahum censures Nineveh throughout most of his writing, and his fellow seer Zephaniah graphically predicts its downfall (see Zephaniah 2:13–15). Nineveh—and the entire Assyrian Empire—fell to the Medes and Babylonians in the early seventh century bc. Its ruins lie at the site of present-day Mosul, in the province of Nineveh, Iraq.

6 | Jonah 1:3

But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

Jonah’s rebellion against God’s charge is immediate and unmistakable. He doesn’t merely try to hide from God, but sets out to flee far away. His destination has not been identified with certainty, but according to many scriptural authorities, he catches a boat headed some twenty-five hundred miles (four thousand kilometers) west, toward the southeastern coast of Spain—the boundary of the then-known world. Nineveh, by contrast, was about five hundred miles (eight hundred kilometers) to the east.

6 | Jonah 1:4, 5, 7, 10, 12, 15, 17

But the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken. Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep. . . . And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. . . . Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. . . . And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you. . . . So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. . . . Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

In this story, “went down” and “was gone down” are translated from the Hebrew verb yārad. One source remarks that its repeated use (four times—twice in v. 3, as well as in v. 5 and 2:6) signals not only Jonah’s physical descent into Joppa and the boat but also his mental state of disobedience and inaction. Even in the midst of the storm, it is the pagan sailors who initially turn to a higher power. 

To cast lots was to toss specially marked sticks or stones to find answers to yes-or-no questions, either as a game of chance or to make important decisions. In the ancient Near East, it was accepted as a legitimate way to determine guilt, arbitrate disputes, and discover God’s will. (See other instances in Leviticus 16:8; Joshua 18:10; Nehemiah 10:34; Acts 1:26—and Psalms 22:18, widely viewed as foretelling the casting of lots for Jesus’ clothing at his crucifixion, as depicted in Matthew 27:35.)

Christ Jesus later cites Jonas (the Greek form of the name Jonah) in alluding to his own burial: “For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40).

from Section 3

7 | Jonah 2:1, 2, 7–10

Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish’s belly, and said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. . . . When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord. And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.

Jonah’s assertion parallels wording in two psalms: “I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the Lord” (Psalms 31:6) and “Salvation belongeth unto the Lord” (3:8). Like Hannah’s offering of thanks (see I Samuel 2:1–10), Jonah’s prayer affirms God’s power and willingness to deliver rather than petitioning Him for help.

8 | Jonah 3:1–5, 10

The word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days’ journey. And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. . . . And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way.

Archaeological evidence shows Nineveh to have been only about eight miles (13 kilometers) in circumference. “Three days’ journey” may denote the size of “greater” Nineveh—including such nearby locations as Rehoboth, Calah, and Resen (see Genesis 10:11, 12). “Forty days” is probably a formula similar to designations for the Flood, the Exodus, and Moses’ sojourn on Mount Horeb (see Genesis 7:12; Exodus 16:35; 24:18).

Hāpak, the Hebrew verb rendered overthrown, describes God’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as well (see Genesis 19:25). Commentators suggest that the Ninevites’ ready acceptance of Jonah’s prediction reveals a respect for deities of foreign cultures instead of a genuine turning to the God of Israel.

9 | Psalms 80:19

Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.

from Section 4

12 | James 4:8

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded.

Cleanliness was a common symbol of purity and sinlessness in Jewish culture. Priests washed their hands and feet as an outward sign of spiritual cleansing, and all Israelites were expected to wash their hands before prayer. 

In this passage, observes a scholar, “The language of ceremonial cleansing is applied to the inner purity of one’s actions and intentions.” (In another example, Psalms 24:3–5 employs the metaphor of clean hands to represent freedom from sin.)

from Section 5

13 | John 8:1–11

Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, they say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

Under Roman rule, Jews were not allowed to execute anyone—but Hebrew law called for the death penalty in many cases of adultery (see Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22). No matter how Jesus responds, the synagogue leaders hope to be able to charge him with a serious infraction of Roman or Hebrew statutes. And if he supports one of these laws, he will contradict his own teachings on either the law or forgiveness (see Matthew 5:17, 18; 6:14, 15).

When the Master first replies, he addresses the Jewish belief that no one is free of sin. His mandate “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her” acknowledges the stoning requirement, thus avoiding the appearance of disrespect for the law. At the same time, he exposes the rulers’ hypocrisy, halts their own manipulation of the law, and challenges them to reexamine their lives.

Jesus’ writing on the ground has prompted questions about what he wrote, but it is the act itself that is significant. Bible authorities explain that in Jesus’ time, this act would have demonstrated dissent and disengagement. When he resumes writing, the Savior is plainly dismissing the elders’ attempts to entrap him. Yet he judges neither the men nor the woman, replacing condemnation with a call for reformation.

from Section 6

14 | Philippians 4:8

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

15 | James 1:25

Whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

“Perfect law,” per one commentator, means “the sum total of God’s revealed truth—not merely the preliminary portion found in the OT, but also the final revelation made through Christ and his apostles. . . .”

Looketh is translated from the Greek term parakyptō, indicating a stooping down to peer or look. It occurs again in accounts of Peter and Mary Magdalene bending down to look into Jesus’ sepulcher (see John 20:5, 11).

Another source reflects, “It is not the person who momentarily notices and obeys a command of Christ who will be blessed, but the person who is characterized by obedience to Christ’s commands—for whom they are a chosen lifestyle.”

Read a related article, “Jonah: No irreversible mistakes” by Lyle Young, at http://csjournal.com/jonah-irreversible.