Thursday 17 June 2021

Psalm 145:10-21

Background

This passage is one of celebration and exhilaration as the 70 come back having seen the power of God in their mission. This success is framed in the context of overcoming demons and Satan – an idiom that our culture finds difficult and alien. It is helpful to look at how the people of Israel at the time understood the term 'Satan’. Satan was literally ‘the accuser’ who began in God’s heavenly council but overstepped his role to the point of being in rebellion against God. He was seen as having moved from bringing unfounded accusations to actually inciting people to do wrong, so that they could be accused. Finally, as the people of Israel saw it, Satan seeks to overthrow them and subvert their role as God’s promise-bearers. Satan gained this level of influence and power because Israel and the world at large had fallen for his cunning ways.

This passage illustrates how Jesus’ task is to confront Satan and his cunning ways and to break his power so that the new kingdom of love and peace can be ushered in.

In verse 21 it is clear that the coming kingdom of God is not for an elite – whether of intelligence or piety. Here we have a scarcely disguised reference to the elite of the Jewish leadership in contrast to the simple ordinariness of the disciples. 

To Ponder:

• We tend to dismiss ideas of Satan these days but his influences are at work trying to corrupt our thinking, to convince us that ‘truth’ and ‘goodness’ do not matter. How do we identify and resist these contemporary manifestations of Satan?
• What elements in our current church life risk it becoming an ‘elite’ organisation?

Prayer

Almighty and all-knowing God, grant us discernment and wisdom to stand against the wiles of Satan in the cunning lures of our own times. Amen.