Oct 02: 1Chr 16 | Eze 28 | Gal 1-2

Reading 1 - 1Ch 16:21,22

"He allowed no man to oppress them; for their sake he rebuked kings: 'Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm' " (1Ch 16:21,22).

The kings, so far as we know, were Pharaoh in Gen 12:17, and Abimelech king of Gerar in Gen 20:7; 26:11.

Who were the Anointed Ones? The fathers, along with Sarah, in the general sense of having been specially selected by God. And so God saw that, wherever the fathers went, they would be protected by His Providence, and if necessary by divine decree given to Gentile rulers.

This is the same point David was careful about regarding Saul: Never would he lift up a hand against the Lord's anointed (1Sa 24:6,10; 26:11,23). Did David learn this psalm -- and this attitude -- from Samuel?

"Do my prophets no harm" is a quite remarkable addition to the Gentile account, yet strictly true: Both Abraham (Gen 22:8; 17:17; Rom 4:19) and Sarah (Gen 21:10,12; Gal 4:30) were "prophets"! And so also were Isaac (Gen 27:27-29) and Jacob (Gen 48:15-22; 49:1-27).

Reading 2 - Eze 28

"In his inaccessible and impregnable island fortress, the prince of Tyre mocked at any threat to his security. He was proud in his achievements; insolent in his challenge to others; wise in his own conceits. The king aspired to equality with God (v 2). In that, he followed the pattern of Adam in sinning and being ejected from the Garden of Eden. He is warned that he is but Adam (v 2) and the fate of Adam was to be his. He felt that he was the personification of wisdom and beauty -- so was Adam (vv 4-12)! He believe that he was divine and glorious (Eze 28:2), but Adam was really that. He believed that he possessed divine wisdom (v 3), but Adam was taught by the Cherub (v 14). And as Adam sinned and was ejected from the Gard