I've been thinking and reading about angels recently. I'll write some more on that later. But, here is a list of 8 things angels do and the scripture that informs us.
They:
protect - Ps. 91:11
guide - Genesis 19:17
encourage - Judges 6:12
deliver - Acts 12:7
supply - Ps. 105:40
enlighten - Mt. 2:19-20
empower Lk 22:32
rebuke - Num. 22:32
discipline - Acts 12:23
God Our Refuge
91:1-2
Psalm 90 spoke of God as the dwelling place of his people. This psalm speaks of God as the protector and deliverer. These are comforting words for the believer.
Matthew Henry wrote:”all those who live a life of communion with God are constantly safe under his protection, and may therefore preserve a holy serenity and security of mind at all times.”
Those will dwell with God will find him to be a safe place. These word shelter conveys the idea of a hidden place. The KJV translates it as “the secret place”. Remember Corrie ten Boom’s book “The Hiding Place”? It was named that because her family created a hidden compartment in their home to hide Jews from the Nazis.
The psalmist speaks of God as our shelter, shadow, refuge, and fortress. Those are four metaphors for safety and protection. Therefore, God is the one we can trust with our lives and our souls when we dwell or abide in him. (2)
There are also four different names for God in these verses: the Most High, the Almighty, YHWH (the LORD) and my God. Those names tell us about the attributes of God that show he is willing and able to protect us.
The words Most High (Elyon) means he has authority over all, that he is sovereign.
The word Almighty (Shaddai) means he is infinite in power, strong enough to save and protect us.
The word LORD (Yahweh), his covenant name, shows his covenant care for his people.
The word God (Elohim) emphasizes God as creator of heaven and earth who can help with everything.
Since God is the most exalted one and the most powerful one, he can provide safety to his people.
God Our Deliverer
91:3-8
God protects his people in different situations. He protects them from unseen dangers. The snare of the fowler is likely a metaphor for someone who sets a trap or plots against those who believe in God. A fowler is one who hunts and kills birds.
He delivers from pestilence he sends as judgment, as when he brought boils on the Egyptians but spared the Israelites. (Exodus 9:8-12)
God provides shelter as a mother bird does with her babies. Pinions are the ends of the wings of a bird. (4)
God is faithful, and his faithfulness we can uses as armor against attack such as a soldier would use in battle.
We do not have to fear. (5) Fear and trust are opposites!
So, as many fall under God’s judgment, his people will see their recompense (payback or justice) but not experience it. (8)
God Sends Angels To Help His People
91:9-13
God does some of his work through angels. He commands them to guard his people and to lift them up. For example, when the Syrian army came to attack and kill the prophet Elisha, God sent a great host of fiery chariots and horses to protect him. (2 Kings 6)
Angels rescued Lot and his family before the Lord destroyed Sodom. (Genesis 19)
An angel rescued the apostle Peter from prison, as God answered the prayers of the church. (Acts 12)
Hebrews 1:13-14 tell us that angels are ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of believers.
The Lord Speaks
91:14-16
The Lord speaks directly in these verses. He says what he will do for the one who dwells and abides in him, the one who holds fast to him.
He will do the following:
Takeaways
Stay close to God in prayer and Bible reading: dwell with him.
Trust God to help you as this psalmist did.
Live in peace knowing you are secure in the care of a loving Heavenly Father and his Son who saved us into eternal safety and peace.
Psalm 90 is attributed Moses. We are not told the situation that prompted Moses to write it. However, it is clearly reflecting on a time of God’s wrath upon Israel’s sins. It might refer to Israel’s refusal to enter the promised land, resulting in an additional 40 years of wandering in the desert.
God Is Eternal
90:1-2
The psalm opens with statements of God’s eternality. He has been their dwelling place in all of their generations, meaning he has always been there.
God existed before creation of our world. (2) He is creator, not creation. He has always existed and he will also exist forever, from “everlasting to everlasting”. And he will always be God. He exists beyond time. He does not experience a succession of events - all of history is an eternal present to him.
Because God is eternal, he is always the dwelling place of his people, as Moses says in verse 1. He also said this to the people of Israel right before he died. He said “The eternal God is your dwelling place and underneath are the everlasting arms.” (Deuteronomy 33:27)
Since he is eternal, he can grant eternal life. He comes to us and makes his home (dwells) with us when we come to him through Christ. (John 14:23)
Because God is eternal, we can dwell with him in every generation. Those of us who come to him in saving faith, will dwell with him forever. That is the picture presented in Revelation 21:3: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God itself will be with them as their God”.
We dwell with him and he dwells with us.
Men And Women Are Transitory
90:3-6
God’s eternality is exclusive. Only he has it. In contrast, men and women are transitory. We die. We return to dust. (3) This verse reflects the fall of man in Genesis 3. God told Adam: “you are dust and to dust you shall return”. (Genesis 3:19)
Since God is eternal, living forever, even what we consider a long time is nothing to him. Moses says a thousand of our years is like a day or part of a night. (4) This is just a poetic way of saying God is eternal, it is not that God actually counts years as days. Since all of history is before him all of the time, he is not measuring is existence by our time.
But our time is short, even to ourselves We are like grass that only flourishes for one day. It is like a fleeting dream that is here one minute and gone the next. It is like that vivid dream you wake up having, then cannot remember a few hours later.
Man’s Life Burdened By The Fall
90:7-12
The short life that men and women have is burdened by the consequences of Adam’s fall into sin. Once we realize God’s wrath upon sin, we are dismayed. (7)
And because of Adam’s sin, our years are brought to an end. Instead of immortality, humankind became mortal. God told Adam he would die if he ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Genesis 2:17) When Adam disobeyed God, God decreed that he would return to the dust, that he would die. (Genesis 3:19) Paul explained that death came into the world through sin. (Romans 5:12)
Even the life we have is difficult. It is full of toil and trouble. This again is what God decreed as a consequence of Adam’s sin. He said the ground was cursed and work would be hard. (Genesis 3:19) Solomon wrote that our days are full of sorrow and our work is a vexation. (Ecclesiastes 2:23)
Of special note is the statement that God sets out our secret sins in the light of his presence. (8) Nothing is hidden from God. He often brings hidden things to light. He often brings hidden things to light.
We have certainly seen that to be true in recent times as pastors and religious leaders have had their supposedly secret sins revealed.
Many people do not consider the power of God’s anger and wrath. (11) If they did, they would look for a way to escape it. We know the only way is to come to faith in Christ and commit ourselves to him. As Paul wrote, we have been saved by Christ from the wrath of God. (Romans 5:9)
So, we should realize the shortness of our days and ask God to help us understand it. (12) Having realized this, we should devote ourselves to obedience to God and manifesting his glory. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. (Proverbs 9:10)
Closing Prayer
13-16
Moses closes the psalm with a prayer for restoration of the Lord’s relationship with the people of Israel. He asks that the Lord satisfy them with his steadfast love so that they can rejoice and be glad. In fact, he asks God to make them glad for as many days as he has afflicted them.
Lastly, Moses asks God to show them his working on their behalf so they and subsequent generations may see his glorious power.
A. W. Tozer said: If God gives you a few more years, remember it is not yours. Your time must honor God. Your home must honor God. Your activity must honor God. And everything you do must honor God.
Paul Commends Phoebe
16:1-2
Phoebe probably carried this letter from Paul, who was in Corinth, to Rome. Phoebe was a believer. Paul called her “our sister”.
She was a member of the church at Cenchreae, which is the port city outside of Corinth. Paul may have started the church there. We know at a minimum that he was there, as he sailed from there to Ephesus. (Acts 18:18)
Not only was Phoebe a church member, she was a servant of the church and, possibly, a deaconess. Most of the modern translations use the word servant to translate the Greek word “diakonos”, which is often translated in English to “deacon”. So, the question arises as to whether the word here means simply one who serves, or refers to the office of deacon.
Paul wanted the Roman church to welcome Phoebe a fellow believer and to help her with any news she would have while in Rome. One reason for them to do so is that Phoebe has been a benefactor to other believers, including Paul. (2)
Greetings
16:3-16
After commending Phoebe, Paul sent greetings to several people. We notice that the some of the names are Jewish, some Greek, and some Latin (Roman). This testifies to the diversity of the church in Rome and explains Paul’s instructions for Jews and Gentiles to unite in the church.
Paul may not have personally known every person he greeted, but he at least knew their reputations as devout believers and workers in the church. It shows that the early church valued relationships. They identified with each other and had affection for them.
First, he sent greetings to his fellow workers Priscilla and Aquila, wife and husband, who were also fellow tent makers with Paul.
Paul met them in Corinth. They were Jews who had left Rome when Emperor Claudius expelled all of the Jews from Rome.
Paul stayed with them and worked with the during the week, then spoke in the synagogue on the Sabbaths. At some point, they risked their lives for him. This may have occurred when the Jews rioted against Paul and attacked some of the new converts.
Paul took them with him when he left Corinth and sailed to Ephesus. He left them in Ephesus. There they encountered Apollos and taught him more fully about Jesus. (Acts 18)
Back in Rome, Priscilla and Aquila hosted a church in their home and continued their work for the Lord. (3-4)
Paul also greeted some relatives (kinsmen) who were believers living in Rome. Andronicus and Junia, probably a married couple, were Jewish believers who had been in prison for their faith as Paul had been. (7) They were early believers, coming to Christ before Paul did.
The next clause describing them creates some contention. The ESV interprets it as “they were also well known to the apostles”. The CSB (Christian Standard Bible) is similar, saying: “noteworthy in the eyes of the apostles”. But the NIV and the NASB interpret it as “outstanding among the apostles”.
So, this raises the question: was Junia, an apostle? I think the answer is a qualified yes. I do not believe Paul indicates them to have the status of the Twelve or of himself. Rather, the word “apostle” is not always used of the the Twelve. The Greek word “apostolos” is sometimes translated as “messengers”. Paul referred to Titus, Epaphroditus, and other this way. (2 Corinthians 8:23; Philippians 2:25) If this is the case here, Andronicus and Junia were likely missionaries or evangelists somewhat like Priscilla and Aquila.
He also lists Herodian as a “kinsman”, a relative and a Jew. (11) So we see several members of Paul’s extended family had to come to Christ at this point in time.
We see that Paul was not a cold hearted theologian. He had deep relationships with people and valued them. He referred to several people in this list as “beloved” meaning he loved them and had deep affection for them.
He referred to Rufus’s mother, saying she had been a mother to him also. (13) Paul was probably estranged from his immediate family due to his conversion and work for Christ. This woman recognized that and “mothered” Paul.
Instructions
16:17-20
Paul moved from greetings to his last set of instructions. He told them to watch out for those who create divisions and those who oppose right doctrine. (17) They serve themselves and not Christ. So, they need to be wise.
Greetings From Those With Paul
16:21-24
Paul including greetings from those with him. Timothy is referred to as a fellow worker, having served Paul and the church.
Paul also had three other family members with him, Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater. (21) It must have been gratifying to have some of his family members come to Christ and support Paul.
Tertius evidently transcribed Paul’s dictation into this letter. Gaius hosted Paul, possible meaning Paul was staying with Gaius under house arrest. A couple of Roman believers, including the city treasurer were with Paul as well.
Doxology
16:25-27
Paul closed the letter with praise to God, a doxology. He referred to God as the one who was able to strengthen them, who kept the gospel secret for a long time, but now disclosed it. He is the eternal God. He is the one who can bring men and women to the obedience of faith.
Glory to God forevermore through Jesus Christ - Amen!
