UNIT 2 the way of god s forgiveness Week of January 19 Value Every Life! What difference can I make by showing I value every life? Background Passage: Psalm 139:1-24 Lesson Passages: Psalm 139:1-10,13-16,23-24 Biblical Truth: As Creator and Sovereign Lord, God values every human life and expects His people to do so as well. Life Goal: To help you show you value every human life from conception to the end of natural life 68 e x p l o r e t h e b i b l e P e r s o n a l Stu d y G ui d e
Many Christians observe the third Sunday in January as Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. Churches engage in special actions to call Christians to be advocates for the unborn. They seek to permeate the culture with biblical teachings regarding the sanctity of human life. Thus we pause in our study of John s Gospel to focus on Psalm 139. This Scripture one of the inspired psalms of King David of Israel reflects on the greatness of our Creator God and the value He places on every human life. Compare that scriptural view about God and the value of human life with the reality we constantly see splashed across the TV screen, on the Internet, and in grocery-store tabloids. The contrast is shocking! Much of popular culture is deaf to God and His Word. Consequently, it has grown numb to the value of human life. It callously refers to a life growing in the womb as tissue, not a child. It glorifies violence and sexual perversion. It ignores increasing threats to the elderly and other vulnerable human beings. For a lot of Christians, uneasy questions include What can be done? and How can I make a difference? We confess our belief in God, our faith in Jesus Christ, and our devotion to the Bible as the perfect treasure of God s truth. Yet we often struggle with putting God s truth into action. We can start, however, by understanding clearly what the Bible teaches concerning the way God values every human life. Key Doctrine SANCTITY OF LIFE In the spirit of Christ, Christians should oppose racism, every form of greed, selfishness, vice, and all forms of sexual immorality. We should work to provide for the orphaned, the needy, the abused, the aged, the helpless, and the sick. We should speak on behalf of the unborn and contend for the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death. Background Passage Overview God Knows Me Perfectly (Ps. 139:1-6) When David thought about the greatness of God, he was overwhelmed by the thought that God knew everything about him. God Is Present Wherever I Am (Ps. 139:7-12) David s thoughts about God s greatness extended to an awareness that God was everywhere present. David could not conceive of any place where he might flee to escape God s presence. God Plans My Beginning and End (Ps. 139:13-16) God s interest in David had begun before he was born. God was at work forming David in his mother s womb in keeping with a divine plan for his life. God s Ways Are to Be Mine (Ps. 139:17-24) In light of God s good work in fashioning his life, David desired that his thoughts and actions please God. Value Every Life! January 19 69
Psalm 139:1-6 1 Lord, You have searched me and known me. 2 You know when I sit down and when I stand up; You understand my thoughts from far away. 3 You observe my travels and my rest; You are aware of all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue, You know all about it, Lord. 5 You have encircled me; You have placed Your hand on me. 6 This extraordinary knowledge is beyond me. It is lofty; I am unable to reach it. Wherever a diamond ( ) appears before a word, see page 6 for pronunciation help and quick definitions. Every Life Worth Knowing (Ps. 139:1-6) As you read this section, take note of how God s comprehensive knowledge of David could be either comforting or unsettling. Verse 1. God s awareness of David was intimate, but wasn t merely automatic or general in nature. God had searched David. He knew all about David because He desired to know. God s knowledge of David was intentional. Verse 2. God s knowledge of David was comprehensive, as is His knowledge of all of us. God s careful searching of David included the man s most mundane activities, his sitting down and his standing up. Even more striking was David s acknowledgment that God understood his thoughts from a far distance. Such intimate knowledge on God s part could be either comforting or threatening, depending on a person s habits of thought. Verse 3. Furthermore, God paid attention to David s travels as well as times he returned to his home to rest. In fact, David recognized that God was aware of all of his ways. God s sifting through a person s comings and goings can be either discomforting or assuring, depending on where and for what purpose we travel. Verse 4. David realized that God s understanding of him was complete. God understands us so thoroughly that He knows our speech even before we talk. This should give us pause before we speak. God knows the motivations and attitudes that lay behind our speech (see Matt. 12:34). He truly knows all of our thoughts, ways, and words. He knows our motives. Sadly, this might be a reason that some people make it a point not to think much about God. Verse 5. David affirmed that God was scrutinizing him from every angle. God viewed him 70 explore the bible Personal Study Guide
from the front, the back, and the sides. God had encircled David with attention and concern. Again, this action of God can feel either oppressive or uplifting to a person, depending on one s relationship with God. His encircling presence can be a source of comfort and protection. It can also provide an impetus for self-scrutiny. That God had placed His hand on David could have been for David an experience either of affliction or of great empowerment. Possibly the thought is intentionally capable of both applications. Sometimes we need to experience God s comforting presence and encircling knowledge; at other times, we need to be more careful about our thoughts, words, and deeds, because nothing about us is hidden from God s gaze. Verse 6. David s contemplation of God took him into depths of extraordinary knowledge knowledge that was beyond human understanding. God s knowledge of us is comprehensive and true; like David, we are unable to fully grasp it. Our finite minds cannot contain or conceive the total greatness of our infinite God. What can we learn from these verses that helps us value human life? First, we can acknowledge that God knows all of us just as fully as He knew David. Second, we who are followers of Christ can strive to show appreciation for every human being whom God has created. None of us can know everyone else in the world. But we can take the initiative to know more people on some level. The more we get to know them, the more we will value them and can show we appreciate them. If we recognize and appreciate the unborn as persons made in God s image, we will begin to value them as God does. NOTES? Does God s full knowledge of your life give you comfort or distress? Why? In what practical ways can you show others that God knows them and values them? Value Every Life! January 19 71
Psalm 139:7-10 7 Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I go up to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there. 9 If I live at the eastern horizon or settle at the western limits, 10 even there Your hand will lead me; Your right hand will hold on to me. Every Life Worth Relating To (Ps. 139:7-10) In this section, take note of the ways David described the unlimited reach of God s presence and providential care. Verse 7. By means of two questions, David affirmed God s presence everywhere at all times. In the first question, David asked if there were a place he could escape from God s Spirit. The assumed answer is no. In the parallel question, David wondered where he could flee and be outside of God s presence. The answer is nowhere. Admittedly, the thought of God s presence everywhere and at all times can be frightening as well as comforting. David was not expressing a desire to run and hide from God. Rather, he found comfort and assurance that God would be present regardless of David s whereabouts. Verse 8. Next, David pondered two commonly recognized vertical extremes. Upward and above was heaven, including the sky and, beyond that, the abode of God. Downward and below was the grave and the abode of the dead. The Old Testament term used for this abode is Sheol. David declared that God s presence encompassed even these two polar opposite abodes. Verse 9. Then he considered the horizontal extremes of eastern and western horizons. Described in visual terms as a person in ancient Israel would see it, the eastern horizon was the place in the east where the sun rose to wing its flight across the sky. In the evening, the sun settled beneath the distant, western waters of the Mediterranean Sea. David s point was that a traveler to either of these east-west extremes would also find God s presence there. Verse 10. To David, God s pervasive presence was an encouraging thought. David lived with an 72 explore the bible Personal Study Guide
assurance that God was present with him to lead and protect him. What can we learn from David s eloquent expressions of God s presence and guidance? For one thing, God deems His people worth pursuing with a view to leading and upholding them. In addition, when we go out of our way to relate to vulnerable people we show that we also value human life. Because God is willing to be present with and to give guidance to every person, we as Christians also are to value every human being as worth relating to in positive, helpful ways.? How has God shown His unlimited reach and concern for you? How can you show similar Christlike concern to someone who feels lonely, threatened, or afraid? Every Life Purposeful from Beginning to End (Ps. 139:13-16) In this section, notice what David s reflections about his life led him to conclude about God. Verse 13. David saw himself as a unique creation of God, extending to the depths of David s being his inner parts. God was to David like a Divine Weaver who threaded the various components of his physical body into a complex yet purposeful being. And God did all this good work prior to David s birth. God had a plan for David s life even when he was still in his mother s womb. Verse 14. When David thought about the complexity and unity of the human body, mind, and spirit, he was driven to praise God. We too cannot help but marvel at God if we reflect on the wonder of human life. How could we possibly think that human beings evolved naturally by random chance? By divine inspiration, David knew well that God alone was to be praised for Psalm 139:13-16 13 For it was You who created my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother s womb. 14 I will praise You because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, and I know this very well. 15 My bones were not hidden from You when I was made in secret, when I was formed in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began. Value Every Life! January 19 73
the wonder of human life. Consequently, every human being from the moment of conception to the end of natural life is an expression of God s creative work and has a divine purpose for being brought into existence. Verses 15-16. Long before the advent of sonogram technology, David acknowledged that the intricate formation of a new human being was a mystery. It happened in secret that is, in the mother s womb. The parallel reference to David s being formed in the depths of the earth also signified the mother s womb, emphasizing the physical nature of the human body (see Gen. 3:19). While the ancients couldn t a the child in the womb, God could. God saw David as a person even as David s physical body was developing inside his mother. Moreover, God knew about and planned for every single day of David s life before the day of his birth. The days were written in God s book. This is a wonderful tribute to God s sovereign knowledge. The idea is not that God forces a predetermined plan on every person. Rather, He knows how every person s potential fits into His purposes. David praised God for creating him with a purpose in mind. How much more should we, with the prenatal knowledge that we have through advances in science and medicine, praise God and demonstrate our respect and value for every human life from conception to the end of natural life. Psalm 139:23-24 23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way.? In a culture of death, how can you communicate without compromise God s wonderful valuing of human life? Every Life Accountable to God (Psalm 139:23-24) In this section, take note of David s earnest desire, expressed in his prayer, for God to correct as necessary and to guide David in his every thought, decision, and action. 74 explore the bible Personal Study Guide
Verse 23. In 139:1, David acknowledged God had searched him and knew him. In closing the psalm, David opened his heart s door and invited God to search and know him. God already knew David s heart, but the prayer reflected David s willingness to open every corner and crevice to God s testing and correction. Do you pray with this kind of openness? Are you willing, for example, for God to test your thoughts, attitudes, and motives concerning the value of every human life? Verse 24. By fully opening his life to divine review, David earnestly desired for God to ferret out any wickedness that is, any actions (or inaction) that were an offense to a holy and loving God. He prayed that God would guide him to act in ways that are right and holy, not just in David s time but in every generation, every culture, and every circumstance. God s ways are never obsolete. God s truth isn t a relic of Bible times; it is everlasting. Will you, therefore, also pray that the Lord would guide you to act in ways that reflect the value He places on every human life? Faith in Action Urge your Bible study group to plan and carry out a collective ministry action that promotes the sanctity of human life in your community. You can find ideas for group actions online at Web sites such as www.erlc. com (SBC Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission) and www. heartlink.org/beavoice/ (Focus on the Family).? What hinders you most from following God s guidance today regarding the issue of the sanctity of human life? What Now? My Mission How will you put into action this week what you ve learned in God s Word about the value of human life? Intentionally get to know someone better and show that you appreciate the person. Determine ways that you will relate helpfully in Christian love to new or expecting parents, to someone who is disabled, and to someone who is elderly and homebound. Become involved in your church s efforts to educate and impact those who are struggling with sanctity of human life issues. Use Psalm 139:23-24 in your times of prayer this week. See what God will do in response. Value Every Life! January 19 75