Paul’s Theology of Righteousness – Part 13

Review

• 7 To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house. Isaiah 42:7 NKJV
• 6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. Romans 5:6 NKJV
• 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:8 NKJV
  • Destroy: to loosen (implies to release)
  • Jesus did not do away with what bound her, but He released her from it.
• Redemption was God’s way of making mankind righteous and releasing man from the works of the devil.
  • Redemption: to rescue and deliver from the bondage of sin and the penalties of God’s violated law (poverty, sickness, spiritual death)
• The seven redemptive names of God – God has given us the redemptive right to expect these in the name of Jesus.
  • Jehovah: He is that He is. He can’t NOT be.
    • Jehovah Jireh – the Lord will provide
    • Jehovah Shammah – the Lord is there (present)
    • Jehovah Rapha – the Lord Who heals you
    • Jehovah Tsidkenu – the Lord our Righteousness
    • Jehovah Nissi – the Lord our banner (victory)
    • Jehovah Shalom – the Lord our peace
    • Jehovah Raa – the Lord our shepherd

Jehovah-Raa: the Lord is my shepherd

• ¹The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. ² He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. ³ He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. ⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. ⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. ⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever. Psalm 23 NKJV
  • Why the use of metaphors?  Those who are seeking the truth will find it; those who aren’t will scoff and disregard.
  • V 23: In the Hebrew the emphasis is on the word “my.”
    • This implies a position that effects your condition.
    • There is a God side and a man side to every subject in the Bible.  He leads, we follow.
      • Humility Three Step: withdraw, retire, yield

• “I Shall Not Want” – Jehovah Jireh

  • Want = Lack
  • ³¹ “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6:31-33‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

• “Green pastures,” “still waters,” “restores my soul” – Jehova Shalom

  • “Lie down”
    • Sheep are timid and refuse to lie down unless they are:
      • Free from fear
      • Free from Friction with other sheep
      • Free of pests
      • Free from hunger
  • “Still waters” – literally “waters of rest”
    • Three sources: dew on the grass, deep wells, springs/streams
    • Sheep are 70%water. Tf the supply of water for an animal drops off, they become restless and stray in search for water.
      • ¹³ “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water. Jeremiah 2:13 ‭NKJV‬‬
        • It was about relationship.
  • “Restores my soul”
    • “Cast sheep” is an old English term for a sheep that is turned over on its back and can’t get up by itself. A cast sheep is a very pathetic sight, lying on its back with its feet in the air it flays frantically struggling to stand up. If the shepherd doesn’t find it it will die. This is why the shepherd counts his sheep several times a day.
    • How a sheep can get in this position:
      • Because they are looking for a soft dugout to lay in and not following the shepherd.
      • Because their fleece is too long and heavy. (Shearing is required. Sometimes God takes things away to save you.)
      • if they are too fat.

• “Paths of righteousness” – Jehova Tsidkenu

  • If left to themselves, sheep will follow the same trails until the become ruts. They will graze the same hills until they’re desert wastes.
    • “His name’s sake”
      • ³ He refreshes and restores my life (my self); He leads me in the paths of righteousness [uprightness and right standing with Him—not for my earning it, but] for His name’s sake. ‭‭Psalm‬ ‭23:3‬ ‭AMPC‬‬
      • ⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. ⁷ He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. ⁸ He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭53:6-8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
      • He leads us in paths of right standing with Him and the benefits of that position…because He paid for us to have it by becoming our righteousness.

• “Shadow of death” – Jehovah Shammah

  • Valley: every shepherd knows the high country, and he leads his sheep persistently up the paths that wind through dark valleys.
    • You walk through hard times. You don’t stay there. He leads you to higher ground.

• “Thy rod and staff,” “table” – Jehovah Nissi

  • The shepherd knows that predators like coyotes, bears, wolves, and cougars can take cover in these cliffs and prey on the sheep…so when the shepherd is in the field, he carries a rod and a staff.
    • Rod: From the time every shepherd boy began watching sheep, he picks out a sapling tree. He pulls it from the roots and shape the roots into a smooth rounded head of hard wood.
    • The staff is used for guiding the sheep.
    • “In the presence of my enemies”
      • ¹⁷ No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the Lord. ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭54:17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

• “Anoint my head with oil” Jehovah Ropha

  • Sheep are plagued by two major health concerns:
    • Sheep are especially troubled by the nasal fly. The flies lay eggs in the sheep’s nose, and the larvae work their way up  into a sheep’s head where then burrow into the flesh which causes intense irritation and severe inflammation.
    • Scab is an highly contagious disease common among sheep. It is most commonly found around the head. As with flies, the only effective antidote is to apply anointing oil to control the disease. In many sheep-rearing countries, dips are built and the entire animal is immersed; then, the head is treated personally.
    • ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. ‭‭James‬ ‭5:14-15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
  • “Cup runs over”
    • ⁸ And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. ‭‭II Corinthians‬ ‭9:8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
  • It starts with following Him, but it doesn’t stop there.
    • ³⁷ On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. ³⁸ He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” ³⁹ But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. John‬ ‭7:37-39‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
    • ⁸ But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. ‭‭Acts‬ ‭1:8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
  • Goodnes and Mercy
    • Mercy (Greek: “hesed”): gracious dealings, active devotion, committed care; MSG: “gracious dealings”
      • Some writers feel that “devotion” is one of single best English words one could use to sum up the meaning of the Hebrew word “hesed.” The English word “devotion” describes the state of being ardently dedicated, in love with and loyal to another person. The RSV attempts to bring this out by its translation, steadfast love.
      • Vine adds that… “Biblical usage frequently speaks of someone “doing,” “showing,” or “keeping” hesed. The concrete content of the word is especially evident when it is used in the plural (eg, La 3:22). God’s “mercies,” “kindnesses,” or “faithfulnesses” are His specific, concrete acts of redemptive love in fulfillment of His covenant promises. An example appears in Isaiah 55:3.”
  • Follow: pursue
    • Two body guards–for screwed up situations and things I screwed up:
      • Goodness: God takes the situations and turns them
      • Mercy: God keeps His covenant promises based on His righteousness not mine
    • ¹⁰ The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. ¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. ¹⁴ I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. ¹⁶ And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. ‭‭John‬ ‭10:10-11, 14, 16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬