Paul writes, “Further, my brothers & sisters, rejoice in the Lord!” We’re going to take our biblical literacy further with some cross-referencing in the OT.
[This discussion can be read aloud in less than 8 min.]
Philippians: Shine Like Stars – DAY 65
Family Discussions for the New Year
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DAY 65/THURSDAY
Philippians 3:1-9
Further, My Brothers & Sisters
“Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. 2Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. 3For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by His Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— 4though I myself have reasons for such confidence.
If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.
7But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in Him…”
Philippians 3:1-9a (NIV)
*Click here to read in the NLT, ESV, NIrV, CSB.
Building Biblical Literacy: Taking it further.
- Comprehension asks, “What does it say?”
- Interpretation asks, “What does it mean?”
- Application asks, “How should it change me?”
*Jen Wilkin, Women of the Word, p.87 (2014)
In our DAY 63 discussion, we said we would go through these three stages of good literacy-building here at the beginning of Philippians 3.
DAY 63 was Comprehension.
In our DAY 64 discussion, we began Interpretation.
Today, we continue Interpretation with more cross-referencing, always aiming to correctly handle the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).
Cross-Referencing the OT
New Testament writers reference the Old Testament frequently. We’ve already seen Paul do this in Philippians. On DAY 45: A Warped & Crooked Generation, we saw that Paul was referring to Deuteronomy 32:5 when he wrote:
“Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15so that you may become blameless and pure, ‘children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.’ Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky 16as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.”
Philippians 2:14-16 (NIV)
Compare Deuteronomy 32:5 from the Old Testament:
“They are corrupt and not His children;
Deuteronomy 32:5 (NIV)
to their shame they are a warped and crooked generation.”
As Paul informs us in Philippians 3:5-6, he was “circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.” With this as his background, we know that Paul knew the Old Testament Scriptures very well! His familiarity with them is another good reason to cross-reference the OT as we study his New Testament writings.
Bibles list many cross-references in the margins or at the bottom of the page. As we saw on DAY 64, online Bibles can help us do cross-referencing via the search bar. Let’s continue where we left off with our search for the word “rejoice” and take it further.
OT Cross-References for Rejoice
The Old Testament turned up 123 results for rejoice. That’s a lot of verses! How should we sort through them?
First, let’s identify OT books with more uses of rejoice.
There are two clear winners:
- Psalms – 43
- Isaiah – 20
The next closest are Deuteronomy & Proverbs, with eight verses using rejoice in each.
63 is still a lot of verses to read. To sort through these, I suggest starting with the 43 in Psalms and scrolling through the verses to see if any pop out at you. Some may sound similar to what Paul has written in Philippians 3:1 — those should get a closer look.
“I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing the praises of Your name, O Most High.” Psalm 9:2 (NIV) |
“Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure…” Psalm 16:9 (NIV) |
“I will be glad and rejoice in Your love, for You saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul.” Psalm 31:7 (NIV) |
“Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!” Psalm 32:11 (NIV) |
“In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name.” Psalm 33:21 (NIV) |
“Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous, and praise His holy name.” Psalm 97:12 (NIV) |
“The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad.” Psalm 118:24 (NIV) |
“May those who fear You rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in Your word.” Psalm 119:74 (NIV) |
*Click here to view the list of all 43 search results.
I skimmed the list of 43 verses in Psalms and chose these eight. Now, which of these seems the most like Philippians 3:1?
Philippians 3:1 and Psalms
“Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.”
Philippians 3:1 (NIV)
Two of the verses from Psalms use the phrase, “rejoice in the Lord.” Let’s look a little closer at these two.
“Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!”
Psalm 32:11 (NIV)
“Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous, and praise His holy name.”
Psalm 97:12 (NIV)
With these verses, we need to go back to the first stage of biblical literacy, comprehension. To comprehend these verses, we should read each of these psalms in their entirety for context.
Psalm 32 (Of David)
“Blessed is the one
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
2Blessed is the one
whose sin the Lord does not count against them
and in whose spirit is no deceit.3When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4For day and night
Your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.5Then I acknowledged my sin to You
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, ‘I will confess
my transgressions to the Lord.’
And You forgave
the guilt of my sin.6Therefore let all the faithful pray to You
while You may be found;
surely the rising of the mighty waters
will not reach them.
7You are my hiding place;
You will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.8I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.
9Do not be like the horse or the mule,
which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle
or they will not come to you.
10Many are the woes of the wicked,
but the Lord’s unfailing love
surrounds the one who trusts in Him.11Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous;
Psalm 32 (NIV)
sing, all you who are upright in heart!”
If we could quickly sum-up this Psalm, what would we say?
Maybe…
Those whose sins have been forgiven have every reason for rejoicing because God has made them righteous & upright.
Does this sound like a message Paul wants to send to the Philippian believers? I think so. Now, let’s look at Psalm 97.
Psalm 97
“The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad;
let the distant shores rejoice.
2Clouds and thick darkness surround Him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.
3Fire goes before Him
and consumes His foes on every side.
4His lightning lights up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
5The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.
6The heavens proclaim His righteousness,
and all peoples see His glory.7All who worship images are put to shame,
those who boast in idols—
worship Him, all you gods!8Zion hears and rejoices
Psalm 97 (NIV)
and the villages of Judah are glad
because of Your judgments, Lord.
9For You, Lord, are the Most High over all the earth;
You are exalted far above all gods.
10Let those who love the Lord hate evil,
for He guards the lives of His faithful ones
and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
11Light shines on the righteous
and joy on the upright in heart.
12Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous,
and praise His holy name.”
How about a summary of this Psalm?
Maybe…
Rejoice because the Lord reigns! He has made you righteous, and He will guard & deliver you.
This message also seems appropriate for the Philippian church.
Just the Tip of the Iceberg
There is much more we can learn about and from the practice of cross-referencing as we study Scripture. In our next discussion, we’ll move away from focusing on one word, like rejoice, and focus on an idea.
DAY 65/THURSDAY Prayer
Father God,
Thank You for Your Word.
As we learn how to study Scripture, we pray: “Show me Your ways, Lord, teach me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth & teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long” (Psalm 25:4-5).
May Your Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, guide us into all truth (John 16:13).
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
DAY 65: Paul writes, "Further, my brothers & sisters, rejoice in the Lord!" We're taking our biblical literacy further, cross-referencing in the Old Testament.
Thx
You’re welcome! 🙂