Week 12, March 15–21: Numbers 28–38; Psalms 39–41

• Sun      Mar 15 Num. 28–30    Ps. 39
• Mon     Mar 16 Num. 31–33    Ps. 40
• Tue      Mar 17 Num. 34–36    Ps. 41
• Wed     Mar 18 John 1–3        
• Thu      Mar 19 John 4–6        
• Fri        Mar 20 John 7–9        

This week we finish the book of Numbers and move back to the NT to read the fourth Gospel, the Gospel of John. We also finish reading Book I of Psalms. Earlier in the year, when we began the Psalms part of the reading, we considered the fact that the book of Psalms seems to have been compiled with a fair amount of strategic design. Notice the concluding stanza of Psalm 41, which is the last psalm in Book I.

Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,

          from everlasting to everlasting!

                    Amen and Amen. (Ps. 41:13)

It seems the psalmist, David in this case, was intentionally concluding the section with a call to bless the Lord forever and ever. Or perhaps it was a final author who composed the collection of psalms together and put this finishing stanza here to mark the end of Book I. This feature becomes more notable when looking at the final stanza of the other four books of the Psalter.

Here is how Psalm 72 ends.

Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,

          who alone does wondrous things.

Blessed be his glorious name forever;

          may the whole earth be filled with his glory!

Amen and Amen!

The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended. (Ps. 72:18–20)

Book III ends similarly, with these two lines at the end of Psalm 89.

Blessed be the LORD forever!

          Amen and Amen. (Ps. 89:52)

Psalm 106 is the last psalm in Book IV, and it too ends with a call to bless the Lord forever.

Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,

          from everlasting to everlasting!

And let all the people say, “Amen!”

          Praise the LORD! (Ps. 106:48)

Finally, the book of Psalms ends with a five-psalm group of “Hallelujah” psalms, Psalms 146–150. It seems this group is meant to be viewed as the conclusion of the whole Psalter, and we will say more about that when we get to that point in the read thru. Just before that, though, Psalm 145 concludes Book V with a couple lines that echo the closing of the other five book, with a call for all flesh to bless the Lord’s holy name forever and ever.

My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD,

          and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever. (Ps 145:21)

This observation of the shared language of the final stanza of each of the five books of the Psalms suggest the psalms were put together into a coherent book with a meaningful shape. It appears the Psalter is not just a haphazard collection of 150 individual psalms. Rather, it is meant to be read as a unified composition with an intentional design. As you read through Psalms throughout this year, be looking for other indications of the author’s artistry and strategic intentions in the way he wrote and arranged things. We know God is the Author of the Scriptures, and in his wisdom and kindness he used the sensibilities and poetic skills of individual authors who were carried along by the Holy Spirit to write just what God wanted us to read.

The Gospel of John, is like Matthew, Mark, and Luke in some ways. John tells the story of Jesus’ life and ministry, and death and resurrection. There are many similarities between John and the other Gospels, but there are also quite a few differences. Sometimes the first three Gospels are referred to as the Synoptic Gospels, because they share affinities with each other that differ from John. As we have seen, the Gospels all cover basically the same material, but each one has its own distinctive features and message. It is important to read them with this in mind. Notice the different emphases and tone of John as you begin reading through it this week.

John presents Jesus as the Eternal Son—God made flesh to dwell among us and to reveal his glory to us. One of the major themes of the book has to do with belief. In fact, the main purpose of the book is to instill faith in the readers. Near the end, John helpfully tells his readers exactly why he has written these things:

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20:30–31)

As you read through John, notice how often you come across “believe” and “faith” (which convey basically the same idea). In the first half of John (chapters 1–12), the acts of Jesus demonstrate who he is as the Son of God. His miracles and mighty acts serve as signs to reveal his nature. They help the world, and us today, believe in him and have life in his name. Then the second half of the book (chapters 13–21) tell of Jesus’ final words to his disciples before his death, then the story culminates in his death and resurrection for the salvation of all who believe in him. The glory of the Father and the glory of the Son are most fully revealed in the cross and the empty tomb.