Welcome to episode 198 of Grasp the Bible. In this episode, we walk through Psalm 73. Today, we will explore the psalmist’s struggle with envying wicked people, focusing on:
- The principle—The Just God Is Good to the Godly (v. 1)
- The perception—Injustice Makes Godliness Seem Futile (vv. 2–14)
- The perspective—The Just God Judges Wicked People (vv. 15–26)
- The practice—Faith in the Just God Gives Stability in the Face of Injustice (vv. 27–28)
Key takeaways:
- The traditional view that God’s goodness is experienced in terms of prosperity, ease, and good health, and these belong truly to the “pure in heart” who maintain proper ritual observance and ethical behavior.
- The problem is that the psalmist has not experienced the expected fruit or consequences of maintaining purity of heart. Instead, the wicked seem to have it now and have it all.
- Those who reject God's ways appear to be rewarded rather than judged.
- The real heart of the matter—the righteous person feeling that it has been to no end to keep his heart pure.
- The truth is, both good and bad happen to everyone, but to the “pure heart” it seems that the wicked never experience the ailments the righteous suffer!
- Sometimes godliness appears futile when measured by worldly standards
- The ephemeral nature of the wicked's prosperity lacks permanence and substance when viewed from God's perspective.
- Even if the wicked possess everything earth offers, they have nothing compared to the treasure of knowing God.
- The goodness of God is not defined by the peace the wicked enjoy, nor is it denied by the affliction suffered by the pure in heart.
Quotable:
- Am I serving God for His benefits or for Himself?
Application:
- Identify your prosperity triggers. What specific situations most challenge your faith when you observe apparent injustice?
- Examine Prosperity Gospel Influences: Asaph's crisis partly stemmed from an assumed connection between righteousness and reward. Examine where prosperity gospel thinking might infiltrate your theology—the belief that faithfulness should always lead to visible blessing.
- Our assessment of reality changes not when circumstances change but when we see them from God's viewpoint.
- Nearness to God itself is good —not what God gives, but relationship with God Himself.
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