Friday, September 4, 2020

"I was cast aside in the house of God" (Psalm 83:12 LXX; MT Psalm 84)

I don't know how many times the Lord spoke to me through the LXX translation of the Old Testament. No wonder most NT authors quoted Scripture from the LXX (80% of the time) rather than the Hebrew MT. Late last night, I had a great struggle, almost in proportion to Jacob's struggle with the angel at the stream of Jabbok. I woke up several times, thinking about the events of last night and then at 4am sharp I got up for good to read my Bible and prayed. I came across Psalm 83:12 LXX, "I was cast aide in the house of God" instead of the MT "I rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God". During the beginning of PKP (MCO) I felt that the MT spoke to me as often I would go to church on my own and just prayed at its entrance when we were barred from holding public services for more than 3 months. I was like a doorkeeper in God's house. Then now back in church, the house of God I felt cast aside. It is an interesting Greek word, "pararriteisthai" quite a mouthful but it means to be thrown down.

However, in the LXX 1 Sam 2, the word is used for someone asking for a priestly office so that he might eat bread. I felt perhaps I am such a situation that I was cast into the house of God in this time of pandemic in a priestly office to serve God's people and do God's work. God knows I have no intention of earning a living or eating bread by church income but Jesus himself said that those who preach the Gospel should live by the Gospel, so there is nothing to be ashamed of, in earning a living while fulfilling God's calling in one's life. The other meaning of this Greek word, "cast aside" is that this priestly office could be despised or deemed to be so insignificant by lay people. Some people think they could go on doing church without pastors or preachers. Anyone can preach and anyone can lead, so they think. They don't realise as Paul says that for one to be equipped for every good work/ministry, one must be trained in every Scripture that is breathed out by God (2 Tim 3:16-17). Too many people think that they can just ascend the pulpit and speak in God's Name. I have watched numerous online services conducted by various churches and 80% of them, I would rate as weak or extremely weak preaching. There was one online service that for the first 10 minutes he was talking 101 things but there was no a single mention of God's Word. 

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