Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 69:19-28
Ps 69:19-28
19 You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed; all my enemies are before you. 20 Scorn has broken my heart and has left me helpless; I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found none. 21 They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst. 22 May the table set before them become a snare; may it become retribution and a trap. 23 May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever. 24 Pour out your wrath on them; let your fierce anger overtake them. 25 May their place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in their tents. 26 For they persecute those you wound and talk about the pain of those you hurt. 27 Charge them with crime upon crime; do not let them share in your salvation. 28 May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous.
John 19:28 Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty."
Matt 27:34 There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it.
I never cease to be amazed when studying the Bible. There are so many passages from the Old Testament that are used, referred to or are quoted as fulfillment of prophecy. Many of these, when read in context, would never be thought to be a prophecy or to have a secondary meaning. The reference to gall is one of these.
But what is the point? Giving wine mixed with gall would be to add insult to injury when one was dying and thirsty. Some have tried to say that it was given in pity by the soldiers because it was some kind of sedative. I doubt they would have done anything to make the death of Jesus any easier. The whole idea of killing one on a cross was to torture that person to the maximum degree possible. The gall was in their perverted minds, just a humorous way of torturing him further.
But the joke was on those who were killing Jesus. While they mocked and laughed and even spat on him, they were pawns in the hand of God and were fulfilling a lot of prophecies, proving Jesus to be the Messiah! Their very acts of cruelty, God used for converting people later. What kind of “evil” in our lives today is God using for our good and for the good of others? We will never know, but he is!
O LORD God, giver of life and revealer of all truth, it is such a blessing to serve you and to be able to trust you. Give me greater faith and more wisdom to live for you and to bring others to you. Help me be able to say words filled with grace that will help those who are weak and those who are struggling to put their trust in you and find strength and be filled with peace and joy from you. Thank you for the many ways your word proves that Jesus is the Messiah. In his name I pray.
Robert
