People sometimes wish that God would say something to them. They have a question to ask or perhaps even a complaint to air. But if the Old Testament teaches us anything, it indicates that God has already spoken to us. The writer of the book of Hebrews, whose name we do not know, begins with a reminder that God spoke “at many times and in various ways” in the past (Heb. 1:1).

The author says this to draw a contrast that will shape everything else we read in this book. God has spoken in the past. But the climax of all that He has said is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ. This is because everything God has said is ultimately meant to reveal Himself. According to verse 3, only Jesus is “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being.” Jesus puts a human face on God. But He does more than translate the unseen nature of God into a human form.

Verse 3 points out that Jesus shows us what God is like because He is God. He sustains all things “by his powerful word.” Jesus is the revelation of God that all previous revelation was building toward. Yet He came to do more than show us what God is like. Jesus also provided “purification for sins” by offering Himself as a sacrifice (v. 3). The message at the heart of the book of Hebrews is the incomparability of Christ. Jesus is superior to all things, even the angels, because He is their creator (v. 4). He is the sacrifice that surpasses any other sacrifice that may be offered for sin, even those that God Himself prescribed in the Law of Moses. Jesus is the only way to God.

People sometimes wish that God would say something to them. They have a question to ask or perhaps even a complaint to air. But if the Old Testament teaches us anything, it indicates that God has already spoken to us. The writer of the book of Hebrews, whose name we do not know, begins with a reminder that God spoke “at many times and in various ways” in the past (Heb. 1:1).
The author says this to draw a contrast that will shape everything else we read in this book. God has spoken in the past. But the climax of all that He has said is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ. This is because everything God has said is ultimately meant to reveal Himself. According to verse 3, only Jesus is “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being.” Jesus puts a human face on God. But He does more than translate the unseen nature of God into a human form.
Verse 3 points out that Jesus shows us what God is like because He is God. He sustains all things “by his powerful word.” Jesus is the revelation of God that all previous revelation was building toward. Yet He came to do more than show us what God is like. Jesus also provided “purification for sins” by offering Himself as a sacrifice (v. 3). The message at the heart of the book of Hebrews is the incomparability of Christ. Jesus is superior to all things, even the angels, because He is their creator (v. 4). He is the sacrifice that surpasses any other sacrifice that may be offered for sin, even those that God Himself prescribed in the Law of Moses. Jesus is the only way to God.

Today in the Word is a daily audio devotional available via podcast. Today in the Word features solid biblical content and study that models the mission and values of Moody Bible Institute.

Today in the Word Devotional

The Last Word

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/a8cdbf10-d816-4c77-9e79-aa1c012547e1/clips/7c1a56c3-d46a-4779-8c88-b11d016a7539/transcript

At the start of our study, we learned that the word music comes from the Greek mousa, which is where we get the word muse, meaning to become absorbed in thought and to think carefully, even biblically. But in ancient mythology, a muse was also a pagan goddess, an idol who presided over the arts and sciences. The root of the word music reminds us that if we do not think well, music can become an idol or even a means to worship a pagan god.

In the book of Daniel, Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar created a golden image and decreed for people from every language and nation to fall down and worship as soon as they heard musical instruments. The phrase “all kinds of music” (v. 5) is repeated no less than four times in this chapter and represented all nations, peoples, and languages (v. 4). Even today music is used to glorify and worship images that are attractive, made of “gold”, but also idols “made by human hands” (Ps. 115:4). This music exalts idols that cannot speak, hear, smell, or walk.

This passage also contains a message for the church. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego risked their own lives by being thrown into the fire because they were faithful to their Maker, rejecting the values and teachings of Babylon. As followers of Christ, it is our call to live and worship with the same faithfulness to the true King.

Uncompromised worship may cause even an earthly king to acknowledge a higher power (v. 28). We look forward to that day when a multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language will stand before the true King and the Lamb. Perhaps with all kinds of music, we will declare “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb” (Rev. 7:10).

At the start of our study, we learned that the word music comes from the Greek mousa, which is where we get the word muse, meaning to become absorbed in thought and to think carefully, even biblically. But in ancient mythology, a muse was also a pagan goddess, an idol who presided over the arts and sciences. The root of the word music reminds us that if we do not think well, music can become an idol or even a means to worship a pagan god.
In the book of Daniel, Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar created a golden image and decreed for people from every language and nation to fall down and worship as soon as they heard musical instruments. The phrase “all kinds of music” (v. 5) is repeated no less than four times in this chapter and represented all nations, peoples, and languages (v. 4). Even today music is used to glorify and worship images that are attractive, made of “gold”, but also idols “made by human hands” (Ps. 115:4). This music exalts idols that cannot speak, hear, smell, or walk.
This passage also contains a message for the church. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego risked their own lives by being thrown into the fire because they were faithful to their Maker, rejecting the values and teachings of Babylon. As followers of Christ, it is our call to live and worship with the same faithfulness to the true King.
Uncompromised worship may cause even an earthly king to acknowledge a higher power (v. 28). We look forward to that day when a multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language will stand before the true King and the Lamb. Perhaps with all kinds of music, we will declare “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb” (Rev. 7:10).

Uncompromised Worship

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/a8cdbf10-d816-4c77-9e79-aa1c012547e1/clips/a4b50cc8-6e5b-4e44-805e-b1630151de21/transcript

Love songs have always been popular. Songs that express love between a man and a woman are virtually as old as human civilization.

God has given us an entire book of the Bible devoted to love songs, perhaps in order that we know of a greater love than the one we often hear about in our culture. Song of Songs, written by King Solomon, is a collection of poems set to music that celebrates the affection, longing, and physical beauty between a man (He) and a woman (She), pronouns written in the book itself.

Perhaps the most striking song is found at the end of chapter 5, where the bride talks about the beauty and physical attributes of her beloved in descriptive language. Notice the order in which she does that. The first line begins with an expression of his beauty and her declaration that there is no one like him: “My beloved is radiant and ruddy, outstanding among ten thousand” (v. 10). From there, she describes the one she loves literally from head to toe. We read affectionate descriptions of his head, hair, eyes, cheeks, and lips all the way to his arms, body, and legs. Observe how virtually every verse, every line of this love song begins with the word “His”, as if to tell us that the song is also about Him, about Christ!

Our songs of worship should proclaim Christ alone from head to toe, from Creation to the Cross, and to His coming again, for He is the Alpha and Omega (Rev. 22:13). But more than that, they call for us as His people, His bride, to love Him in the same way: to adore every part of Him and His Word, for He is our bridegroom (Isa. 54:5; Eph. 5:32). May we sing of His love forever (Ps. 89:1)!

Love songs have always been popular. Songs that express love between a man and a woman are virtually as old as human civilization.
God has given us an entire book of the Bible devoted to love songs, perhaps in order that we know of a greater love than the one we often hear about in our culture. Song of Songs, written by King Solomon, is a collection of poems set to music that celebrates the affection, longing, and physical beauty between a man (He) and a woman (She), pronouns written in the book itself.
Perhaps the most striking song is found at the end of chapter 5, where the bride talks about the beauty and physical attributes of her beloved in descriptive language. Notice the order in which she does that. The first line begins with an expression of his beauty and her declaration that there is no one like him: “My beloved is radiant and ruddy, outstanding among ten thousand” (v. 10). From there, she describes the one she loves literally from head to toe. We read affectionate descriptions of his head, hair, eyes, cheeks, and lips all the way to his arms, body, and legs. Observe how virtually every verse, every line of this love song begins with the word “His”, as if to tell us that the song is also about Him, about Christ!
Our songs of worship should proclaim Christ alone from head to toe, from Creation to the Cross, and to His coming again, for He is the Alpha and Omega (Rev. 22:13). But more than that, they call for us as His people, His bride, to love Him in the same way: to adore every part of Him and His Word, for He is our bridegroom (Isa. 54:5; Eph. 5:32). May we sing of His love forever (Ps. 89:1)!

The Ultimate Love Song

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/a8cdbf10-d816-4c77-9e79-aa1c012547e1/clips/94848da1-3d02-4f79-90ce-b162015a16ab/transcript

There is a worship song that blesses me each time my church sings it. It’s called “We Will Feast in the House of Zion.” It speaks of a day when those in Christ will feast with Him and weep no more (Rev. 21:4), and when “we will sing with our hearts restored.”

We will indeed! Not only will the saints be singing into eternity, but there is a specific place where we will sing, called Zion. Zion is often used as another name for Jerusalem. Psalm 132 says that the LORD has both chosen Zion and desired it for His dwelling forever (vv. 13–14). It is where the nations will be gathered during His millennial reign in the age to come (Jer. 3:17; Zech. 2:10–12). And we will be singing before Him in Zion one day through the psalms, songs, and prayers from His Word.

God’s voice is heard loud and clear about His future dwelling place. Along with Psalm 132, another psalm proclaims that God has “installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain” (Ps. 2:6). The most quoted psalm in the New Testament is Psalm 110, which declares that the Lord will extend Christ’s “mighty scepter from Zion, saying, ‘Rule in the midst of your enemies!’” (Ps.110:2).

Based on the psalms alone, this is a call for us as well. While we sing songs about the cross of Christ, we are also called to sing about the crown of Christ, songs that proclaim and declare the future reign of Christ and His kingdom from Zion. Those the Lord has saved “will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads” (Isa. 51:11). Ask God to give you this eternal perspective as you prepare to sing in worship this coming weekend.

There is a worship song that blesses me each time my church sings it. It’s called “We Will Feast in the House of Zion.” It speaks of a day when those in Christ will feast with Him and weep no more (Rev. 21:4), and when “we will sing with our hearts restored.”
We will indeed! Not only will the saints be singing into eternity, but there is a specific place where we will sing, called Zion. Zion is often used as another name for Jerusalem. Psalm 132 says that the LORD has both chosen Zion and desired it for His dwelling forever (vv. 13–14). It is where the nations will be gathered during His millennial reign in the age to come (Jer. 3:17; Zech. 2:10–12). And we will be singing before Him in Zion one day through the psalms, songs, and prayers from His Word.
God’s voice is heard loud and clear about His future dwelling place. Along with Psalm 132, another psalm proclaims that God has “installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain” (Ps. 2:6). The most quoted psalm in the New Testament is Psalm 110, which declares that the Lord will extend Christ’s “mighty scepter from Zion, saying, ‘Rule in the midst of your enemies!’” (Ps.110:2).
Based on the psalms alone, this is a call for us as well. While we sing songs about the cross of Christ, we are also called to sing about the crown of Christ, songs that proclaim and declare the future reign of Christ and His kingdom from Zion. Those the Lord has saved “will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads” (Isa. 51:11). Ask God to give you this eternal perspective as you prepare to sing in worship this coming weekend.

Psalms: Songs of Zion

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/a8cdbf10-d816-4c77-9e79-aa1c012547e1/clips/ec9fb78b-1800-4002-972c-b154016a74b5/transcript

The Last Word

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