327: Josh Robinson - Exhortation: A Green Olive Tree in the House of God (Psa. 52)

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

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   Welcome to good Chris Selfian talks. I’m Levi. I’m Chris. I’m Jason. And I’m Brian, thank you for joining us this week. On this podcast, we select one talk a week to help us get the Bible in our Daily News feed. Each week we post a talk that we previewed from suggestions sent in by. Listeners from around the world.

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   Then we record a short intro beforehand as a personalized recommendation to you on why we are sharing the talk. And now let’s talk more about this week’s talk.

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   Hello. This is Rutha Chris Atwood back with another talk to share with you for this week. We’re listening to an exhortation that was given by Brother Josh Robinson at the beginning of 2023, and the topic of this one is taken from Psalm 52 and the title is A Green Olive Tree in the House of God. Now what I really appreciate about this exhortation is how impassioned Brother Josh is about the heartfelt appeal he is making to us and those that were listening live. And to also make a point of focusing on our perspective when it comes to serving in the House of God, to make sure that we are being outward facing and looking and being introspective as well about how it is that we impact those around us. The value of the community that we have and the faith that we have and the family that we’ve been called to is so incredibly important.

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   And Brother Josh did a fabulous job outlining that by looking at the example of David in Psalm 52. I want to also especially thank Brother Josh. Because this. Was sent in as a recommendation. However the original recording was missing the first like 3:00-ish minutes of the talk, which was his opening remarks, which kind of derails it otherwise.

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   And brother Josh was very nice to re record those opening few minutes and we were able to edit those back in. So if you notice after the first few minutes the audio sounds different. Or he recorded it after the fact and then we’ve spliced it into the exhortation as it was recorded live when he gave it. So thank you, brother Josh, for getting that over to us. So.

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   That we could share this. Exhortation with everybody. So with that, I will now turn it over to Brother Josh for his exhortation entitled A Green Olive Tree and the House of God. Let us begin with two questions. The first question, did you want to be here this morning? It. Can be an effort making. Sure we have.

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   All the belongings for the whole family. Planning ahead for lunch. Finding a seat where we feel comfortable. Sometimes you have other commitments that pull us in different directions. Coming here can be difficult. Sometimes it’s an issue of wanting to be here that for whatever reason, we are hesitant to walk in the door to see a particular person or to interact with others. A second question.

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   What simile or metaphor would describe you in the ecclesia? Perhaps we are an ecclesial. Pillar stable. And unwavering amongst change around us, others might. Lean on us for support. And advice? Perhaps we are the ecclesial hand, putting our hand up first whenever a volunteer is needed. For a job. Perhaps we are the ecclesial elephant with a memory.

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   For every speaker, every topic. Every event, perhaps we are the ecclesial gardener, going around and checking on the well-being of every member, sharing a word or deed to help them grow perhaps. We are the ecclesial. Spreadsheet keeping everything organised and running smoothly. Or perhaps we are the ecclesial flower, creating a happy, even beautiful environment. We can all think of our own analogies. Or perhaps the analogy is not so positive. Perhaps via the ecclesial parasite taking but never giving.

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    Perhaps the ecclesial skeptic always making negative remarks and not listening to replies. Perhaps the ecclesial millstone a heavy burden on everyone else. Perhaps the ecclesial thorn causing hurt and damage, or the ecclesial weed a nuisance, depriving others of energy and time.

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    How did David though? Describe himself within the ecclesia. Well in Psalm 52 and verse 8 he says I am like a green olive tree in the House of God. And in Psalm 50. 2 The whole. Context is about the. Treatment of the priests how Doeg had. Acted in the House of God. And it is in this house that David is wanting to be a green olive tree.

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    And we want to look at this metaphor this morning of I am like a green olive tree. And we find that the context is within the ecclesia, and we want to look at each element of this metaphor. To help us with how we should behave within the House of God, because we want to cultivate.

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    An environment where everyone wants to be here. So So what is the the context in Samuel? Well, the whole context of Psalm 52 is from first book of Samuel, chapters 21 and 22. It’s one of the most mournful events in the priesthood, is it not? It was going to be an entire line of priests wiped out.

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    Doeg saw the priests at Nob harbouring David and he told Saul and then taught Saul in his jealous rage said to slay them. The other servants would not, but Doek did. He went and killed all the priests except Tobiatha. And let’s turn to 1st book of Samuel and chapter 22 because this is this is the only comment we get in the Samuel record of of what David thought of the situation.

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    The first book of Samuel and chapter 22 and the end of the chapter beginning of verse 20. And one of the sons of Ahimelech, the son of a hight up named Abiatha, escaped and fled after David. And Abiatha showed David that Saul had slain the Lord’s priests. And David said unto Abiatha, I knew it that day when Derek the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul, I have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy father’s house.

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    Abide thou with me. Fear not, for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life, but with me thou should be in safeguard. This is the only comment we get in the book of Samuel about these events. And, and this is where Psalm 52 fits in, because in Psalm 52, David doesn’t hold back.

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    He gives us more thoughts on the event. He gives us a lot more thoughts on this character of Doeg, of all he did, his criminal, his evil acts, the drama, the emotion, although there in these few phrases, is contained more fully in Psalm 52. And what do we see in Psalm 52? If we turn back there, we see Doeg, the typical Edomite vicious hating of Israel, apostates just like Esau and the whole of the Edomite nation. But so often we might have come across Psalm 52, we might have read it in our readings, heard exhortations on it. And we so often focus on Doeg, we we focus on him, we learn to hate him as David did.

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    But how often do we look at this response of David in verse 8 and 9? The contrast is there in the Psalm. So for instance, Doeg, whose tongue is boasting in verse one, it’s scheming, it’s sharp in verse 2. What does David’s tongue do in verse 9? It praises God in verse three.

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    Do egg loves evil more than good? In verse 9, David loves the name of God because it is good. He defines good by the name of God. Do egg in verse 5 would be destroyed forever. David, what will he do forever? Verse 9? He will praise forever. Do egg in verse 5 would be plucked up. He will be rooted out of the land of the living. David in verse 8 would be planted like a green olive tree in the House of God.

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    Verse 7 Doeg didn’t make God his strength, but David. David was fully reliant. He trusted in the mercy of God forever and ever. In verse 8. We know in Samuel that that Doeg didn’t care about the priests of God, but David valued God and his house. Doeg wanted a good name before Saul, but David, he wanted a good name before his guard. He wanted to wait on God’s name.

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    And so we have this contrast that Doeg in verse 5 would be plucked up, would be rooted out of the land of the living, while David would be a firmly fixed green olive tree. Doeg, who had been so destructive in in plucking up the priests from their dwelling place and rooting them out of the land of the living will, God would root him out.

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    God would do the same to him as he treated others. But we might think, surely Doeg is an extreme example. Does such a thing happen in our Ecleses today? Why does this all specifically apply to us? Well, think of the words at the end of Matthew chapter 24 verse 48 to 51, because we are warned of people like Doek in the brotherhood in the last days. Matthew 24 verse 4851 talks about this evil servant who shall say in his heart, my Lord delayeth his coming, and shall begin to smite his fellow servants. We have the description in the last days of a servant very much like Doek smiting his fellow servants, and that servant likewise would be cut asunder, just as Doeg would be removed and plucked out of his place.

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    But the question is, well, how do we smite our fellow servants today? Thankfully, we don’t feel the edge of the sword too often, but we might feel the edge of sharp criticism or accusations or comments that lack a perspective of the bigger picture. Perhaps even more so, we can smite our fellow servants with our lack of enthusiasm when they make suggestions we’re just indifferent or or they plan ecclesial events, ecclesial outings on this Saturday, and we have something else we’d we’d rather do.

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    Perhaps we smite our fellow servants by ignoring them altogether, that we have the people that we like to talk to, that we like to have over and we ignore the rest.

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    And, and sometimes it is those that labour within the eclosure that can be smitten the most. And so we must make the clear decision whether or not we support or smite those that labour. And what we see in Psalm 52 is a wonderful example of, of, of the saying that whilst we can’t change the behaviour of others, we can change ourselves.

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    We whilst we may look at the behaviour of others and think, why are they doing that? How can you possibly act in such a way? We can ensure that we are very different. And, and this is the contrast we have. David verse one to seven describes Doeg, describes Doeg, his evilness, his wickedness, his self centeredness. And verse 8 begins with that contrasting word. But while he can’t do anything about Derek, he can do something about himself.

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    But I am like a green olive tree in the House of God. And this is David’s personal reflection on what, on what he can do in the context of, of ecclesial strife, ecclesial struggles, in the context of, of one that’s going around smiting the fellow servants. And it’s this positive contrast that we, we, we have to look a little bit more at, at this morning. And David is saying that he’s not just planted, but he’s like a tree.

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    He’s not just like any tree, but, but like an olive. He’s not just like an olive tree, but he’s a green olive tree. In each element of of this analogy, we’re being drawn to spiritual characteristics. We’re being drawn to lessons that continue to highlight the contrast between David and Stoeck. So therefore we ask the question, well, what’s this element of being green? When David says he is green, what does that mean? Strong’s definition says it means to be luxuriant, fresh, verdant, flourishing, or new.

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    The same word green as used elsewhere of trees in the Bible, Deuteronomy 12 verse two or First Kings 14, various other places in Kings and Chronicles, Jeremiah, we find that the context of idols being planted under every green tree. Why is that? Well, that’s because they’re the places that looked good. Every green tree, they look good and appealing. Psalm 92 verse 14 uses the same word green in the context of trees that are also planted in the House of God. We’ll look at that a little later, but it just translates the word as flourishing, flourishing trees. Jeremiah 17, verse 8.

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    The greenness is a a demonstration of the vitality of a tree. When a tree is described as green, it’s described as as having life in it, even in a time of drought. Likewise in in Hosea 14 verse 8, the renewed Ephraim taken back into the arms of God after he’s healed. The backslidings after he’s forgiven them is described as green, a symbol of new growth, new life, literally turning over a new leaf.

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    But let’s come to one that’s a little closer to Psalm 52. Psalm 37, please. And we see another use of the word green. But this is going to be a contrast to Psalm 52, Psalm 37, verse 35. It says I have seen the wicked in great power and spreading himself like a Green Bay tree, and it’s brother Dudley Fifield, in his book on the Praises of Israel that comments on this contrast. He says the Bay tree is an Evergreen and so perhaps it conveys the conviction of the wicked that they will never be moved, determined to live their lives as they were, they were going to continue forever.

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    The olive is also an Evergreen, he says, and it is said never to die, for it sends forth fresh shoots in even when cut down. It would therefore be a fitting symbol for the righteous who, though they fall 7 times, rise up again. So what do we see? But in the fact in, in the wickedness, in the wicked, the greenness is a facade.

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    It looks good, it looks permanent, but it’s all show. And so taking all these elements, this element of, of freshness, of newness, of, of flourishing, do you see the contrast that David and God is is painting in Psalm 52? David is full of new growth, encased in glorious foliage in comparison to Doeg, who might look leafy, but on the inside he’s dead. He’s soon to be plucked up and removed. Or in terms of characteristics, we might say that David is young and innocent, but Doeg is a seasoned, godless and worldly individual.

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    What might being green look like in the in the ecclesia, in the House of God today? Well, David is like the vibrant youth who considers the ecclesia as a real haven. It’s a place of encouragement, a place of healing, a joy to attend. But sometimes in our lives, through the truth, we can, we can lose that enthusiasm, that that vibrancy, that energy. We can become more sceptical and cynical. Think about maybe when you join this ecclesia, everyone seems so friendly, seemed so welcoming.

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    It seemed like a great place to be. We, we want to join. But then over time, you, you get to know that maybe my brother and sisters are a little bit flawed after all. Fancy that. Perhaps we begin to work with them on committees. Perhaps we see a bit more of human nature coming to the forum. We show them that ourselves.

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    And sometimes we can lose that vibrancy, we can lose that newness, and we can start focusing on the negatives instead of the positives. And even if we don’t say it aloud, we can pull others down in our thoughts, as Derrick did. We had an exhortation recently that challenged us for the week to talk positively about others in our ecclesia.

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    How often do you talk about positives in the ecclesial house instead of ecclesial issues? Maybe things to discuss over lunch? Well, what are some of the amazing positives of the ecclesia that God has given us? Is it the friendliness that although we might be shy, there is always someone to talk to? Is it the encouragement we so regularly get from the word of God?

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    Is it the enthusiasm of the Sunday school teachers that they go an extra mile for their little classes? Or is it the faithful older brother or sister who comes week in, week out, rain come rain or shine? Is it the fervor to preach? There are many elements of greenery, of vibrancy, of newness, of life within the ecclesia that we can be positive about.

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    We can all be green within the ecclesia, but there’s another detail in this analogy. He is a green olive. David’s. David’s not just comparing himself to any tree, but the olive specifically. Well, what do we learn about the olive through Scripture? Genesis chapter 8. The olive was the sign of the rejuvenated earth. When the dove came back to the ark with the olive leaf, the olive had had weathered the flood and it was sprouting again.

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    In Exodus 27 and verse 20 the the olive was a source of oil representative of the word of God that the the olives were were pressed and it was for the lampstand to burn continually from the oil. In Judges 9 verse 9 the olive tree is described as having fatness abundance. In First Kings chapter 6 we find that it was olive wood that Solomon used to carve the Oracle on which the Ark of the Covenant sat. It was olive wood that he used for the doors with carvings of the Caribbean on each olive wood. The very beautiful ornate wood.

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    In Psalm 128, verse 3, the Olivers seen as a simile for young children round about the table in a family that God has blessed a fruitful family in in in Hosea 14 verse 6, the olive tree is described as a beautiful tree. In Romans 11, verse 14, verse 17, the olive is a tree described as having fatness or the ESV actually calls it a nourishing root for those who are to be grafted in to the eclosure. And let us go to 11 passage Jeremiah. Let’s go to Jeremiah Chapter 11.

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    What do we learn about the olive tree in the book of Jeremiah? We’re seeing these themes of of fruitfulness, of fatness. What does Jeremiah say? Jeremiah Chapter 11 and verse 15. And interestingly enough, it’s the only other time in Scripture that we get this phrase, a green olive tree. You can see that there in verse 16. So Jeremiah 11, verse 15 says, what hath my beloved to do in mine house?

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    Oh, the context again is in the House of God. What a what a similarity, seeing she hath wrought lewdness with many. And the holy flesh is passed from thee when thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest another echo of Doeg of the evil that he committed in the in the House of God. And they’re rejoicing over the evil just in the same way that Doeg boasted himself in wickedness in Psalm 51. The Lord called thy name a green olive tree, fair and of goodly fruit.

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    With the noise of great tumult He hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken. For the Lord of hosts that planted thee have pronounced evil against thee, for the evil of the House of Israel and of the House of Judah, which they have done against themselves, to provoke me to anger in offering incense unto bail.

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    What? What’s this passage saying is that God was looking to Israel as a green olive tree. For what? For goodly fruit, but there was none on it. Instead they loved evil. They were boasting themselves in mischief like Doig. And another interesting parallel with this chapter is that verse 21 to 23 talks about the men of Anoth, which we know were the priests from Jeremiah. One verse one and the edge of the sword being brought against the city of the priests.

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    Another parallel with with Psalm 52. And what are we reading here but the fact that Israel instead of being a nation of Davids, they were a nation of do eggs. They were called to be green olive trees and instead they were mischievous and they hurt one another.

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    But what’s particularly interesting to us is the fact that they were rejoicing in the House of God. That’s what we read at the end of verse verse 15. We might say, well that’s vibrancy, that’s life, that’s greenness in the House of God. But there were no fruits, there were no godly fruits or goodly fruits in that house.

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    So what would be like a green olive tree in the House of God today? What would an olive look like today? Well, it it might be simple to say this, but firstly there’s a there’s a demonstration of fruit within the ecclesia to be an olive within the ecclesia.

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    It can be easy in life to spend so much time, so much energy on our friends, our family, maybe helping other work colleagues out, doing a few extra hours and we can get to the point that we’ve almost exhausted ourselves. So that when it comes to bearing fruit within the ecclesia, we have almost nothing left to give but fruit.

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    The practical outworking of God’s command needs to be demonstrated by each member within the ecclesia. The ecclesia is like any relationship. There needs to be giving from every member.

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    And Dowig, we said he looked leafy, he looked green. He seemed like a good, obedient, notable servant. From the outside he looked good. In fact, that’s how we’re introduced to him in First Samuel 21, verse 7, which says he was the chiefest of the herdsman. 00 La La, what a what a what a man, the chiefest of the herdsman.

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    Doe egg. Let’s, let’s sit at his table next time we have a meal together. He looked the part. He sounded the part. What we find in First Samuel 21 is he even attended the Tabernacle. He was there at the House of God. He even followed the Sabbath. Oh no, I’m detained. Although we wonder why such an apostate man was even in the Tabernacle.

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    In fact, from a from a distance, he looked like a green tree. He could have even been a green olive tree. But when we got closer, when David got closer, there was no soundness. There was no fatness. There was no fruit. There was no abundance. There was no nourishing root. He was no olive.

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    No one would ever survive being grafted onto the rootstock of Doek. And this is the marvellous description that we have in in Scripture of the olive, this fatness, this abundant, this, this fruitfulness, this nourishing root that that others can come and, and be grafted into this olive, other branches, other trees grafted in.

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    Romans 11 uses it as an example of the Jews and the Gentiles being grafted together. But doesn’t it also apply in an ecclesial, in an ecclesia made-up of Gentiles? Have you ever thought about how we can be a nourishing route in the ecclesia? How others might be able to be graft unto us? Because there are there are people that need that. There are people who are new to the truth. There are those who are newly baptised, there are those who maybe have grown a little more disconnected. Not to mention that the fact that we even need to strengthen the bonds that we already have being grafted on to one another, and it needs to be the duty of each ecclesial member. And sometimes we might have a slightly warped perception of of this idea of being graphed on because sometimes we’ve seen a group of 20 or an eclisure of 50 or an eclisure of 200 try and be grafted onto one person.

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    You know, there might be one particular speaking brother that the whole ecclesia wants to be graphed on. They’re going to be grafted onto that nourishing route.

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    But you don’t see 200 trees. It’s trying to be graphed under 1 olive. No, it’s something that we each need to do individually, an ongoing nourishing influence to a smaller number. So in in the ecclesia, is there a specific person, or maybe no more than five people that we look out for, that we as individuals seek to nourish and support? Does our input, our presence, our warmth provides nourishment? If you’re not sure what to do, what to say, think about people who have nourished our spiritual walk. Can we pass on those lessons to someone else? We each need to be a nourishing, fruitful olive in the House of God.

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    And now we come to the final detail in this analogy. He’s not just green, He’s not just a green olive. He’s a green olive tree in the House of God. Why is the metaphor of a tree planted in the House of God such an appropriate metaphor? Well, Job 19 and verse 10 says that his hope has been removed like a tree.

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    He says he feels completely uprooted. The hope that was once something permanent, something dependable, something reliable, resilient, now gone. Well, Psalm one, we sang about it. The righteous who meditate in God’s law day and night are like this tree planted by rivers of water. Not only are they rooted and fixed, but they have a constant source of nourishment and nourishment and enrichment.

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    But let’s turn to Psalm 92 and let’s have a look at another Psalm which talks about the righteous as trees in the House of God. Psalm 92 and verse 12.

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    The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree. He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the House of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our guard. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age. They shall be fat and flourishing. There’s 2 two more types of trees that the righteous are likened to, the palm and the cedar. The palm that’s able to weather all sorts of storms, all sorts of winds due to the way it’s able to flex. Or the cedar, a tree known for its height, for its strength, for the ability to build with it. And where are these trees?

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    They’re planted in the House of of God, just like David in Psalm 52. And if we’re in any doubt, we have this lovely Hebrew parallelism which says they shall flourish in the courts of our God.

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    And how are they described in verse 14? They’re still bringing forth fruit in old age. Age is not a hindrance to bringing forth fruit. They are fat and flourishing and and that word flourishing, the same word as green in Psalm 52 and verse 8. They are green trees in the House of God.

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    They are planted in the House of the Lord. And So what do we know of a tree? But it’s this rooted permanence that a tree has. And, and the analogy and this part of the metaphor of, of the tree is about our commitment to our ecclesia. Because sometimes we can think that it’s, it’s the speakers that keep the ecclesia going. They’re the ones we come to listen to each week. Sometimes we think that it’s the ABS that keep the ecclesia going.

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    They make all the administrative decisions, but no, it it’s the commitment of all who turn up and do their duties that keep an ecclesia going. It’s the commitment of of regular attendees that keep an ecclesia going. It’s the commitment of those who provide meals for the sick, the unable, or the lonely that keep an ecclesia going.

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    It’s the commitment of those who talk to the mothers with young ones, making sure that they have support and encouragement that keep an ecclesia going. There are many things, many types of commitment that keep an eclosure going. And sometimes there are circumstances which prevent us committing to the eclosure. We we decline roles or we find feelings. And sometimes these circumstances are are outside of our control.

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    We might have the burden of sickness, family responsibilities, maybe that outweigh the norm, children requiring more attention, or perhaps we’re struggling in the faith. But sometimes we bring we bring circumstances upon ourselves, don’t we, that hinder our commitment to the ecclesia. Perhaps we choose a job or a career path that’s more demanding than others, and we know that it it might impede our ability to give to the ecclesia.

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    Or perhaps we we we book regular weekends away, or perhaps we choose to visit other ecclesia’s rather than our own. Sometimes we can bring these circumstances upon ourselves which challenge our ability to commit to the ecclesia. I think of the Apostle Paul, even though he was moving about so much, we we think of his missionary journeys, he actually spent a, a long time, a considerable time in each place.

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    We might say it was, it wasn’t a fleeting visit. He had time to put down roots in each ecclesia. And because of that he knew the ecclesias. And because he knew the ecclesias, the care of each of them came upon him daily. And what do we see in Psalm 52? And what do we see in the life of David?

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    We see a tree stoically planted in the House of God. Do you remember what you read in the first book of Samuel, chapter 22, verse 22 of what David said to Abiathan? David makes his comment. I knew it that day when Doek the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul, I have occasion to the death of all the persons of thy Father’s house.

71. 34:53

    If you think you had even one life on your conscience, how would that would plague you? How that would plague me? Think of what’s now in David’s mind, all the what if scenarios. What if I hadn’t gone to the Tabernacle? What if Doek had not been there? What if I had been more secretive? Would the priests have survived?

72. 35:17

    Think about the mental turmoil, David thinking it probably would have been best if I hadn’t gone there that day. Is that what David thought? We don’t have a response in Samuel, but what do we have? We have a response in Psalm 52. What does David say? No, I am like a green olive tree planted in the House of God. There is no doubt in David’s mind, even though him being there had caused and occasioned the priest to be killed, it it was not on his conscience but on souls and on doex. Being in the House of God was still the correct decision, a lesson for us.

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    Whenever ecclesial life is tumultuous, being here is still the correct decision. And although David did wander around the wilderness, we know his heart was always in the House of God. Think of these other comments in other psalms. Psalm 23, verse 6. David says, Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I would dwell in the House of the Lord forever. Psalm 26, verse 8.

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    Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth. Psalm 27 verse 4 One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the House of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple or another.

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    Psalm of David, Psalm 122 and verse one. I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the House of the Lord. How we act, how we react, what we do, whether we are a green olive tree or not, so often impacts how other people view the ecclesia.

76. 37:26

    It so often impacts whether or not other people want to be here. And in all that we’ve considered this morning, we we pray that we might foster an environment within our ecclesia where where people want to come, where they can be strengthened in their walk. We want to foster an environment when that when someone says, let’s go, let’s go to the meeting, we’re glad when they say that to us. So what have we seen from the example of David, a green olive tree in the House of God compared with Doeg? Well, firstly, the idea of being green is about, it’s about trust, it’s about life, it’s about vibrancy instead of nonchalance and scepticism.

77. 38:11

    There is the olive, which is about being fruitful, about being nourishing rather than having a facade and disconnectedness. And lastly, the tree element, Speaking of permanence, Speaking of commitment rather than transiency and disinterest. And we turn our attention this morning and and think of the emblems of the Lord Jesus Christ. We think of his life, we think of His death, His resurrection. We think of His ministry.

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    We think of the fact that in Isaiah 53 verse 2, He is described as a tender plant. He was always fruitful in every good work. And Christ has zeal, a zeal for His Father’s house. But the contrast with John chapter 2 and Psalm 52 is the fact in John chapter 2 verse 15, that Christ makes a whip of small cords.

79. 39:11

    He drives the money changers, the merchants, the animals out of the temple. Christ is the one smiting others in the House of God. And the reason? Because they were making His Father’s house a den of thieves. Christ was driving out the weeds and the thorns. Christ was creating an environment in which the green olive trees could thrive instead of being squeezed by the greedy, thorny money changers. Christ was zealous about making the House of God a House of prayer, a haven for the weary, a place to draw the meek, a place for those who seek.

80. 39:56

    If we have any doubt that Christ was interested in how each of us behave in the House of God, we have that example to look to. There was a driving passion in Christ for how people treated each other in God’s house. So now we come to take the emblems and may we examine ourselves in the light of our Masters example. And may we ponder.

81. 40:31

    Am I? Like a green olive tree in the ecclesia of my God. Thank you for listening to the good Chris Adelphian Talks podcast. We hope this talk helped you in your walk and brightened your day. If you would like to hear more, please subscribe for new episodes. We are on all major podcast platforms and also on YouTube.

82. 41:07

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83. 41:46

    God bless and talk to you next week.